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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24504001">Through Their Eyes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/leoasc/pseuds/leoasc'>leoasc</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>That '70s Show</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:14:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>46,844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24504001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/leoasc/pseuds/leoasc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jackie and Hyde didn't always like each other. In fact, they used to have huge crushes on other people and only ever insulted each other. But over the years, somehow, they go from hating to each other to mutual tolerance to a somewhat-friendship, and they wake up a few years later in love. How did that happen?</p><p>A collection of stories detailing Jackie and Hyde's feelings, perspectives, and thoughts throughout the show, including some missing moments between them. Starting from the very beginning.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>127</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. First Impressions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show, any of its characters, or anything else.</p><p>Author's Note: I am well aware of just how late I am getting into this show, and a little embarrassed about it, but hey, better late than never. I've been too obsessed with the show and Jackie and Hyde and have had too much time on my hands to sit around and do nothing. I thought I'd do a little series that detail Jackie and Hyde's perspectives of important moments during the show, their feelings, how their relationship develops from ground zero, and also include some missing moments. And figured, what the hell, I might as well start from the top.<br/>This takes place during the first two episodes of season one. If people in this fandom are still alive and still reading, I hope you like it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyde had done it. He'd hit the jackpot. He officially knew the most annoying person on the planet.</p>
<p>When he'd first seen her, he could understand Kelso's point of view, and would have even given him a high five for the catch. Jackie Burkhart was, for the first three seconds, extremely attractive. Then she opened her mouth and it all washed away. It made more sense, then, how Kelso had gotten her. But he would need to be seriously high to put up with her blabbering and shrieking and "Michael!"s for more than 5 minutes.</p>
<p>But he'd put up with her.</p>
<p>He wasn't sure how much longer he could do it.</p>
<p>Whenever they were hanging out, she constantly demanded Donna go to the bathroom with her; it took real effort to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He hoped Kelso would get rid of her, and soon. Pretty just wasn't worth it sometimes.</p>
<p>"Kelso, how much longer are we gonna have to deal with the whole Jackie Experience?" he asked one night.</p>
<p>"Don't worry," he replied, and assured Hyde he was planning on breaking up with her. Hyde decided not get his hopes up.</p>
<p>And he was right not to. The night of the Todd Rundgren concert he found himself explaining to the most spoiled brat in the history of spoiled brats why she couldn't just call her daddy to solve all her problems. Forman had just gotten the Vista Cruiser, and if Red found out they'd driven it out of town, and gotten stuck along the way, it'd be gone before they could blink.</p>
<p>"Jackie, parents talk to each other," he bit out. "About how we screw up."</p>
<p>"Why would he talk about that?"</p>
<p>It was a good thing Forman answered, cause he wouldn't have had it in him to be so polite. Then things started to look up.</p>
<p>First, Donna sacrificed herself and followed Jackie to the bathroom, and he was spared her presence for a few minutes. Then, as if the universe finally realized how much he had been suffering, the mechanic offered to trade a new battery for two concert tickets.</p>
<p>"We can't give up two tickets," Kelso said immediately.</p>
<p>Hyde and Forman exchanged knowing looks. They could and they would. "It's either that or none of us go," Forman explained once the mechanic had walked away.</p>
<p>"So who's out?"</p>
<p>Hyde took all the pleasure in the world suggesting, "Well, there's always Jackie."</p>
<p>"Well of course Jackie! Jackie's gone. But who else?"</p>
<p>"Oh, I don't know," Eric said stupidly. "Jackie's date?"</p>
<p>"God hates me," Kelso grumbled as he reluctantly gave up his tickets and subjected himself to lots of alone time with his annoying girlfriend.</p>
<p>Hyde smiled. Maybe it would be a good night after all.</p>
<p>********</p>
<p>Jackie thought Michael was a dream. He was gorgeous, he spent loads of time with her, and he even kept her around his friends, nevermind the fact that she insisted he did those things. She'd almost broken up with him the night of the concert, but he had given up their tickets just so they could spend time together and it was so romantic and Jackie thought, wow, he really likes me.</p>
<p>His friends were another story. Jackie didn't like them much and she guessed they didn't like her either. But she thought they were funny, and she didn't think it would kill them to be a little more polite to her, especially since she wasn't planning on leaving Michael anytime soon.</p>
<p>She would have to win them over, but that would be hard. She decided she would start with Donna. It was obvious she liked the skinny one, and Jackie was an expert at romance. They were leaning against the Vista Cruiser watching the boys play basketball when she asked Donna what she'd gotten Eric for his birthday.</p>
<p>"I don't know," she answered, her tone a little lighter than usual. "Nothing seems right. I wanna give him something…special."</p>
<p>Jackie's eyebrows knit together as she studied Donna's tone and the way she was blushing and glancing at Eric and, hello, it was so obvious. "He kissed you!"</p>
<p>Donna tried to shush her, but she was too excited and she ordered her in the car so they could have a real talk. "Okay, what happened?"</p>
<p>"Jackie, I'm not gonna talk to you about this."</p>
<p>"Then who are you gonna talk to?" she demanded</p>
<p>It took one glance at the boys for Donna to change her mind. She quickly explained what had happened between her and Eric after the concert, talking extremely fast and making Jackie's head spin.</p>
<p>"Donna! Donna!" she yelled, needing her to stop talking. "I've solved it. Get him—a scented candle!"</p>
<p>"A scented candle?" Donna asked dubiously.</p>
<p>"It's practical and romantic!" she grinned and patted Donna's shoulder. Yeah, she'd be in Donna's good books in no time.</p>
<p>The night of Eric's not-surprise party, Jackie was there to make sure everything went smoothly. She gave her advice and prepped her, sent her to the porch, and then fetched Eric for her.</p>
<p>The night kept getting better. She knew it didn't really mean anything, but in the moment, she was crouched behind the kitchen counted with Hyde, Fez, and Michael, spying on Eric and Donna, and she felt like their annoyance with her was put on pause. It was like she was part of the gang.</p>
<p>"This is it. He's going for it," she narrated to them.</p>
<p>"It's his birthday, she should kiss him first," Michael said.</p>
<p>"She did last time." Jackie scrunched up her nose, then remembered that they didn't know about when they all swiveled their heads toward her with a "what?!"</p>
<p>"Nothing! Just shut up and watch!"</p>
<p>"Come on, Forman, go for it," Hyde cheered.</p>
<p>And when Eric answered and told them he could hear their every word, Jackie almost disappeared into a fit of giggles, so she pursed her lips together tightly. Then he turned around and said, "We can see you!" And the four of them dropped to the floor behind the counter.</p>
<p>Donna and Eric weren't really annoyed with them, and they sat on the floor for a while laughing. Jackie felt weirdly at home. Tonight was a good night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Donna</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show or anything associated with it.</p><p>Author's Note: Seeing as I've decided to write about what's going on in Jackie and Hyde's heads during season one, I couldn't really escape writing about Donna and how important she is to them both. I also love the idea of being able to see how feelings evolve as time goes on so this was actually pretty fun to write, knowing their future with each other. Hope you guys like it, even though it's not J/H centric. This would take place over the course of episodes 7, 8, and 11 of the season.</p><p>Posting 2 chapters right now because, one, this chapter is (obviously) Donna-centric and has no Zenmaster in it at all really, and two, because I have others written already so I can :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As if Hyde needed more than one reason to hate disco.</p><p>He hated it before Jackie insisted on making everyone go. He hated it more when she started dancing and flailing her arms around him like a lunatic. He hated it even more when Red cornered him and straight up accused him of not being able to dance. Which he couldn't, but that had nothing to do with why he didn't want to go.</p><p>But if Mrs. Forman wanted to teach him how to dance, he would let her. Couldn't hurt. He also didn't want to miss out on the drive to Kenosha, or seeing Kelso finally (hopefully) break it off with Jackie. Besides, knowing how to dance and actually doing it were two different things.</p><p>But Hyde had been feeling lots of weird things in the last couple days. Things that didn't include complete indifference. He'd felt strange when Red confronted him, and nervous when he first went to practice with Mrs. Forman. Embarrassed as they were dance. He felt like was being someone he was not.</p><p>None of that could cover the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Fez lead Jackie onto the dance floor and watched them dance. Fez, surprisingly, was a great dancer, and, as much as he hated to compliment Jackie, she was even better-graceful even as they moved their way through the dance floor. He couldn't even process the complaints Kelso was sputtering as he, and everyone else, stared at the pair.</p><p>That feeling in his stomach became something totally alien when Donna said, "I would love to dance that way."</p><p>"You wanna dance?" he asked instantly. He didn't learn for nothing anyway, and he didn't give a damn if Forman and Kelso gave him shit for it later. To hell with them if they thought he came here to sulk all night.</p><p>But his heart skipped a beat when Donna enthusiastically answered, "Sure."</p><p>So he took her hand and led her out to the dance floor. They were nowhere near Jackie and Fez's level but that was just as well. Neither he nor Donna had ever been very flash people who liked the spotlight, and they weren't about to start now.</p><p>Hyde knew he was in trouble about ten seconds in, after they'd fallen into a comfortable and steady rhythm. He was holding her close and she looked at him with the same challenging, playful look she'd had her whole life. Hyde found himself smiling.</p><p>"You dance," she teased. "This is a side of you I've never seen."</p><p>"Actually, you're my first dance," he confided, his voice even.</p><p>"I'm your first? I'm honoured." She smiled back at him. Something about her words made him uneasy.</p><p>"This is nice," he said, challenging her to pull away, to give some kind of hint that she this anything short of 'nice.'</p><p>She didn't. She nodded and let out a soft, "Mhm."</p><p>He stopped thinking as he spun her, then dipped her, then neither of them were smiling anymore. "Donna, man, I feel like I wanna kiss you." He spun her back up. "You don't have to kiss me back if you don't want to." She started to laugh so he said, "I'm not kidding." Her laughter faded.</p><p>"Shut up and dance," was her only reply. So he did, but his eyes never left her.</p><p>**********************</p><p>Jackie was starting to think she and Donna were becoming actual friends. Sure, they insulted each other a lot, and it bothered Jackie that of all those basement creeps, Donna had the worst fashion sense. But when it came to it, Donna was pretty easy to talk to. Plus, she loved it when Donna went to her to talk about her feelings for Eric.</p><p>Which was why she agreed to go to that drive-in movie with her-Donna was too nervous and inexperienced to go on her own. It was all for the better, too; she was sure Eric would never have the balls to make the first move anyway.</p><p>So, she supposed it was reasonable that Donna was so upset with her for ignoring her and Eric and making out with Michael for the first half of the movie. She hadn't been able to help it. She and Michael were in an extra good place after the disco.</p><p>But she was here for Donna! "I know," Jackie sighed after Donna had yelled at her a little. "I'm sorry."</p><p>"This is so awkward."</p><p>"You're right, and I wasn't being a very good friend. No more making out. I promise."</p><p>Jackie waited for it, but Donna didn't say anything to her in reply. Jackie sat back down with a confident new smile. So what if she didn't fully mean that promise? This was the first time Donna hadn't corrected her and told her that they weren't friends.</p><p>**********************************</p><p>Hyde had been finding himself alone with Donna a lot lately. And he wouldn't say he hated it. Or felt guilty about it. Especially since the last couple of days Forman had decided to spend all his frickin' time with Buddy Frickin' Morgan, who was probable more rich and entitled than Jackie. Damn, he hated the rich and entitled.</p><p>But he didn't hate Donna. Or the way that she, apart from Forman, was his only friend he could have real intelligent conversations with. And the only person he'd admit to why he hated the rich and entitled so much.</p><p>"I'll always be your friend," she said to him one day when it was just them in the basement.</p><p>"Thanks, Donna." Hyde slapped his hand on her knee, partly because he wanted to and partly because he knew it'd make her laugh, and he liked making her laugh.</p><p>She probably thought he was messing around with her, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Him and Donna. He'd been friends with Donna almost as long as Forman had. It could just as easily have been him. And why not? Donna was probably the only girl in the world he cared about because he wanted to and not because he had to. Why shouldn't he have a little fun?</p><p>He remembered why a couple days later when Forman stormed in and grabbed her and kissed her like no tomorrow. She kissed him back. This was the way it would always be.</p><p>Whatever. It would still be fun to mess around with her. That evening as they bid Eric goodnight, he turned around and cupped a hand around the back of her neck. "Y'know, Donna. If Forman ever decided to dabble in the love that dare not speak its name. I'm here for ya."</p><p>Donne laughed, then he laughed, and they went their separate ways.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Prom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hyde somehow finds himself going to prom with Jackie and it screws with his head.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>Author's Note: Okay, so, here is my take on Hyde's thoughts during the prom episode, the first real big Jackie/Hyde episode in the show. Except, bonus! I also have a couple 'extended' or 'bonus' scenes that I added to fill in gaps during the episode. I'm a little nervous about this one cause I really wanted it to be realistic but still satisfying, so let me know what you think!</p>
<p>On another note, I actually have another chapter written that would take place before this one. It covers their perspectives of (if I remember correctly) episodes 16, 17, and 18 (?) of season one. Basically, the big events were Hyde trying to steal Donna on her and Eric's date, Jackie's pregnancy scare/breaking up with Kelso, and Career Day. I considered posting it but eventually decided against it because I feel like people would rather just read about Jackie and Hyde's moments together than their separate ones? I know I don't have much (or any) of a following for this story, but if you'd actually like to read those other moments, comment and let me know! If not I'll stick to Jackie and Hyde only lol. Anyway, this is too long already, so I'll stop. I hope enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyde wasn't really sure how to tell when you got over a girl. Especially a girl like Donna, who he knew would be in his life forever, and he also knew he'd always care about her. He even still got some sort of weird feelings when he listened to Forman talk about his plans for her on prom night. But the awful gnawing feeling he used to get was mostly gone.</p>
<p>He decided he had better things to do with his time than chase a girl that would never go for him. Like make fun of his friends who were planning on spending money on tuxes and flowers and even motel rooms for an overrated night created to convince dumb teenagers that they needed to spend money and look fancy to have a good time. He didn't get the hype.</p>
<p>Just then, Kelso burst into the room excitedly. "Okay, guys, guess who's taking Pam Macy to the prom?!"</p>
<p>Hyde didn't get the hype about Pam Macy either. She was only attractive by the most basic standards and the easiest person at their high school. "Anyone with a quarter?" he suggested.</p>
<p>"ME!" Kelso yelled proudly.</p>
<p>Fez snapped his fingers irritatedly. "Damn and I had a quarter!"</p>
<p>"Kelso, you're not takin' Jackie?" Forman asked.</p>
<p>"No way, man, Jackie dumped me." Which Hyde still couldn't believe had actually happened.</p>
<p>'Hey, I can take Jackie!" Fez exclaimed.</p>
<p>"Yeah, do it and I'll kick your ass." Typical. Kelso had that girl hardwired into his tiny brain.</p>
<p>"Well, well, well," Fez tutted. "Look who suddenly cares." Kelso responded by punching him on the arm.</p>
<p>"Y'know, you guys are makin' me sick with all your prom talk," Hyde said with his arms folded. "Proms are stupid."</p>
<p>"Hyde, what would you know, you've never even been to one," Forman said as if that made any difference.</p>
<p>"Well I haven't been to the dentist either but I don't need to go to know it's lame."</p>
<p>Prom. What a joke.</p>
<p>***************************************</p>
<p>He was coming to terms with the fact that nothing, not even breaking up with Kelso, would stop Jackie from coming to the basement. He was the only one in there with her for God's sake. They didn't even like each other and she still sat on the opposite end of the couch sighing dramatically every five seconds.</p>
<p>"Jackie," he said, getting enough of it. "If I asked you what's wrong would you stop doing that?"</p>
<p>"It's the prom," she pouted. "Stupid Michael's taking Stupid Pam Macy. And I don't have a date but I told him I did and I'm a complete loser."</p>
<p>Hyde couldn't help himself from laughing. She told Kelso she had a date when she didn't? She was a complete loser. The picture of Jackie showing up dateless was something he would actually go to the prom to see. And when she looked at him like he couldn't believe he was laughing at her it made the whole thing even funnier. She gave him a death glare, so trying to sober up, he muttered out a, "No you're not."</p>
<p>"It's just that...I thought he was gonna ask me," she said, completely ignoring that he had laughed at her. Why the hell would she choose him to talk about her feelings to. "And now everyone who's anyone is already going."</p>
<p>She had that right. "That is so true," he agreed.</p>
<p>"How would you know, you're not even going!"</p>
<p>Oh God, she better not even think about it.</p>
<p>She thought about it.</p>
<p>"You're not going!" Oh no no no no no. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't. "Oh oh, and I bet you clean up really good!"</p>
<p>"I do, but I won't," he told her firmly. "See, that a big part of who I am."</p>
<p>"Look, I know we've had our differences but..."</p>
<p>"Jackie, we've had nothing but differences. In fact, don't we kind of hate each other?"</p>
<p>"Yes but this is the prom!"</p>
<p>And she started bawling. She leaned forward, dropped her head on his cheat, and cried like a 2 year old kid. Hyde had no idea how to deal with crying kids.</p>
<p>"Jackie, don't" he tried to placate. "Stop! Stop crying." Now she was squeezing his arms and he really needed this to stop. "Stop it!" What the hell. "Look, do you wanna go to the prom."</p>
<p>She sat up immediately. "Yes." Her eye makeup was now completely smudged and she looked as serious as ever. He was certain she was certifiably insane. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Hyde had to fight his natural instincts to shrug her off.</p>
<p>"Fine. I'll take you to the prom, but you owe me!" He felt her nod miserably. "Jesus, you're insane, you know that?"</p>
<p>"Did you know Michael was going to ask Pam Macy to the prom?"</p>
<p>He sighed. Clearly, she wouldn't listen to a word he said unless it was about prom or Kelso. "No, Jackie, I didn't know til he came in here and told us."</p>
<p>"I thought he loved me," she whined, her voice starting to crack again.</p>
<p>"Do not start crying again!" he said. She stayed quiet. He sighed again. "So, uh, what do I even need for this thing anyway?"</p>
<p>She jumped up from her position and, excitement creeping into her voice, said, "Oh, Steven, we can go shopping so that we make sure we choose a colour that suits us both! I haven't bought a dress yet, but-oh no, that couldn't work, you can't see me in my dress before-"</p>
<p>"Woah, woah, woah, first of all, we're not gettin' married, so calm down with all that I-can't-see-you-in-your-dress crap. And second of all, I'm not going to the mall to buy fancy clothes I'm only gonna wear for one night." He also couldn't afford to buy fancy clothes he would only wear for one night, but even if he could, he wouldn't. As it was he'd have to try to scrape up something to find a decent tux. He wasn't even thinking about flowers.</p>
<p>"But, Steven, we can't show up looking like poor people who don't know the difference between hot rollers and a curling wand."</p>
<p>"Jackie, I am a poor person who doesn't know the difference between...whatever the hell you just said."</p>
<p>Jackie looked like she wanted to argue, but she deflated and said, "Fine. But you better look nice! And I mean it, Steven, fix your hair and polish your shoes, and for the love of God, wear a bow tie." Hyde was beginning to regret every decision he'd ever made. She flounced up and made her way to the door. "Oh," she added right before she opened it. "And thank you."</p>
<p>And she was gone. Hyde kicked the table.</p>
<p>***************************************</p>
<p>Edna was on a roll the day of prom. Forman, Kelso, and Fez were all busy getting ready, and Hyde didn't feel like either moping around the basement alone or accompanying them in their errands. They didn't even know about his arrangement with Jackie. He'd managed to find a cheap, alright-looking suit and that was about all he'd done to prepare.</p>
<p>He was drinking a beer on his couch listing all the reasons this would be the worst night of his life when there was a knock on his door. "Steven, get off your ass and get that, will ya?" his mother said to him. He hadn't told her about the prom yet either, and was half hoping she'd disappear for the night so that she would never know.</p>
<p>Not wanting a fight with her, he stood up obediently and walked lazily to the door. That is, til he saw who it was. Then, he picked up his pace and hurried outside, pulling her as far away from the door frame as possible.</p>
<p>"What the hell are you doing here, Jackie? And how do you know where I live?"</p>
<p>"Doesn't matter," Jackie waved his questions off. "Look, wear this tonight."</p>
<p>She held up a light purple dress shirt, smiling brightly. Staring at her disbelievingly, Hyde roughly grabbed the shirt from her hands. He didn't even need to look at the tag to know this was a nice shirt with a mean price. Remembering their earlier conversation, Steven's eyes darkened. "I don't need you to buy me clothes, Jackie. I got a suit already."</p>
<p>"No, Steven, it's not charity. I need you to wear this shirt so you can match with my dress. I made sure they were the exact same colour. If you wear any other colour, even the smallest different shade of purple, it'll throw off my whole outfit. So do me a favour and wear the shirt."</p>
<p>Hyde tried to stare her down but she was relentless. "Fine. Anything else."</p>
<p>"Don't forget the bow tie. It's classier."</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes. "Bye, Jackie."</p>
<p>"See you tonight!" She dashed down the porch steps, into her daddy's Lincoln, and sped off.</p>
<p>Hyde glared at the purple shirt in his hand as if it were responsible for murder. Great. Now he had to buy her flowers.</p>
<p>******************************************</p>
<p>"You look ridiculous."</p>
<p>"Thanks."</p>
<p>"Who're you even takin' to the prom? And why'd she agree to go with you? And why in the hell are you wearing purple? Is this a blind date?"</p>
<p>"Would you just shut up and leave me alone?"</p>
<p>Edna grinned and lifted her cigarette to her mouth. They both looked up when they heard a knock at the door. His mother gave him a challenging look. "Maybe I should go meet the lucky lady." The idea made Hyde sick. He wasn't sure whose reaction would be worse, Edna's or Jackie's. His mom would never let him live down the fact that he was taking one of Point Place's finest and bitchiest , and Jackie might scream if she found out she was being escorted by Gross Edna's son.</p>
<p>Keeping his zen face on, Hyde replied, "Yeah, and actually get up from your spot on the couch?" He grabbed the box with Jackie's dumb corsage (Flowers are for dates, Mrs. Forman had told him with a disgustingly sweet smile. For prom get her a corsage.)</p>
<p>Edna shrugged and turned away from him, her form of a dismissal. Hyde walked away, towards a whole other type of hell. "THEY'RE ALL GONNA LAUGH AT YOU!" she yelled intentionally loud enough for Jackie to hear.</p>
<p>"Shut up, Ma, you're making the night too damn special!" he screamed back at her.</p>
<p>Trying to calm his nerves, he took a calming breath and stepped out on the porch. "Hey," he said with a much softer tone. She was wearing a dress Hyde was sure would look ridiculous on anybody but her. Actually, it looked like it was made for her. It had just the right amount of frills and lace and girliness for someone like Jackie. And her hair was pinned up with flowers in it. He guessed it made sense. She was the closest thing Point Place had to a princess. "Wow," he said, "You look beautiful." And he meant it.</p>
<p>"Oh my God, so do you!" which Hyde guessed was supposed to be a compliment. "Um, do you want me to go inside and meet your-"</p>
<p>"No no no," he answered quickly. "Trust me she's lovely." He grabbed her elbow and steered her down the stairs. "Let's just go, alright?"</p>
<p>She followed him for about three paces when she stopped him and pointed at the gold box with the corsage inside. Crap. He'd forgotten he had to actually give it to her. It had cost him lunch for the next couple days. "Is that for me?"</p>
<p>"Oh. Yeah, here, I got this for ya."</p>
<p>She peered into the box and said, "Oh God, Steven, this is beautiful." Hyde relaxed a little at that. At least she hadn't started with the insults yet. "You know, this whole experience has taught me that I don't need Michael to go to the prom. I can go with anyone Even you." And there it was.</p>
<p>"Thanks," she said softly. Then she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek lightly.</p>
<p>"Okay, let's not do that," Hyde decided as she stared at him.</p>
<p>"Sorry. Uh, I have my dad's Lincoln. Will you drive?"</p>
<p>That lifted Hyde's spirits a little. "Yeah! Does he have insurance?" He paused. "Wait, I don't care. Let's go."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The End of the World as They Know It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jackie's world shakes when she finds out Michael is cheating on her and she goes through a whirlwind of emotions, from heartbreak, to betrayal, and then most surprisingly--being okay. Thanks to Steven Hyde.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show or any of its productions.</p>
<p>Author's Note: Hey! So I'm really excited for this one because I love that Jackie always went to Hyde when she was sad, but I feel like we never got to see the soft side of him, especially during the earlier seasons. Sooo, let me know what you think! This is set during season 2 episode 20 when Jackie catches Kelso cheating, and includes some extra scenes I added in. Most of the original dialogue is the same, but I've added a lot of my own too and tried to keep it as true to the storyline as possible. Of course, while hinting at the start of something new for Jackie and Hyde. Enjoy and don't forget to comment :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jackie could feel the air ripping from her lungs. For three full seconds, she couldn't breathe. She thought she would faint. She felt the world she once thought she owned crumble around her.</p>
<p>There was her boyfriend-her boyfriend-kissing someone else. And not just anyone. Laurie Forman, who was sluttier than Pam Macy. How could hedo this to her?</p>
<p>She didn't even realize it when she slid the door open. "Michael!"</p>
<p>He swiveled around with all the guilt of a pig. A lying, cheating pig.</p>
<p>She heard him yell her name but blocked out everything else he had to say. She got out of there as quickly as she could, running down to the staircase to the basement door, and waited. She held her breath again, but he didn't come running after her. Good. She had nothing to say right now anyway.</p>
<p>She took two more numb steps down towards the door but stopped herself. What if he went down there? Or worse, what if he didn't, and he stayed upstairs with Laurie, kissing Laurie, being with Laurie? And if he was downstairs what would he be saying? What would the others say? Oh God, did they know? Would they even take her side? They were Michael's friends first.</p>
<p>But no-no. They were her friends, too, she was sure. Especially Donna. They wouldn't just turn her away. And she really, really didn't want to be alone right now.</p>
<p>Bigger than her desire to not be alone, though, was her desire to be with them, she realized with heartstopping certainty. She didn't have any other real friends. If there was anywhere in the world she could choose to be right now it would be that basement. Hell, she'd rather be comforted by Eric Forman than by any cheerleader she knew.</p>
<p>Quickly, she composed herself. She needed answers, not to be comforted. She ran the rest of the way down and burst through the door.</p>
<p>"Eric, I just saw Michael kissing your sister. He's a rat, he's been cheating on me!"</p>
<p>She felt some relief in the shocked, horrified glances he, Hyde, and Fez shared.</p>
<p>"What?!" he exclaimed. "Well...surely there must be some kind of mistake."</p>
<p>"Well it sure is a mindblower," Hyde added.</p>
<p>They weren't much comfort, but at least they weren't defending him. "So that's it. Michael and I are over."</p>
<p>"Really?" Fez stood up. "And by 'over' you mean..."</p>
<p>"I mean over and done. All right? Forever."</p>
<p>"And by forever you mean..."</p>
<p>God, she wished they'd at least get angry along with her rather than sitting there staring. "And after everything I put up with! I mean, God, him taking Pam Macy to the prom, setting my house on fire, lying about Laurie-God!" She felt like she was going to explode. She wanted to shake something.</p>
<p>"To be fair, that's only the stuff you know about." She wanted to shake Hyde. To rattle him and his insensitivity right out of him, the jerk. Why did she ever think these morons would make her feel better. She had to get out of there.</p>
<p>Without another word she exited the basement and stomped up the stairs. Every inch of her felt like it was going haywire. She didn't even feel sad anymore, just this terrible rage that kept building.</p>
<p>*****************************************</p>
<p>It was like she blinked and she was in Donna's kitchen. She couldn't remember walking there or knocking on the door, or running inside, but there she was, and there Donna was, in the middle of homework around her kitchen table.</p>
<p>"Donna!"</p>
<p>"What is it, Jackie, I'm-"</p>
<p>"I don't care what you're doing! Donna, Michael cheated on me. I just caught Michael kissing Laurie. I just caught my boyfriend kissing someone who wasn't me! He's cheating on me, Donna!" Donna was staring at her with the same look Eric, Hyde, and Fez had given her when she'd told them. Slightly terrified, slightly surprised, slightly pitiful. "Donna, say something!"</p>
<p>"I know," she cleared her throat. "I mean, I knew. I mean...I'm so sorry Jackie."</p>
<p>Jackie faltered. For the second time in the last twenty minutes she felt like she couldn't breathe. "You knew?"</p>
<p>"Kelso's an idiot. A moronic, idiotic, dumbass. I'll kick his ass, Jackie, I swear to God. I wanted to tell you, I just..."</p>
<p>"You just what?" Jackie demanded.</p>
<p>"I don't know, Jackie, it's kind of hard to deal with you, all right?" Donna's voice started rising. "I wanted to tell you at first, but I didn't know how, and then I thought you were gonna break up with him anyway but you didn't, then when you thought he was cheating on you a couple weeks ago you told me you wouldn't wanna know, and-I tried to tell you. You, know indirectly."</p>
<p>"God, what a load of crap! What, so all of you were sitting around laughing at me behind my back? I thought you were my friends."</p>
<p>"We are. Jackie!"</p>
<p>Jackie was already out the door. She didn't want to be there anymore. She didn't want to be anywhere near this crappy neighborhood. Thank God she had the Lincoln today. Successfully not running into anyone, Jackie drove home dangerously. She hardly waited to turn off the car before she jumped out and slammed her way through the front door.</p>
<p>"Mom?" she yelled. "Daddy?"</p>
<p>"Mommy's in here, darling!" Taking deep breaths Jackie followed the sound of her mother's voice. She found her in the living room wearing an expensive robe, drink in hand. A young man in his 20s sat at her feet giving her a pedicure. "Jackie, honey, this is Roman," she said when she noticed Jackie in the doorway. "He does the most amazing housecalls. You look stressed, would you like a pedicure?"</p>
<p>Jackie had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "No." She was in no mood to be courteous, or to deal with her mother. Whirling back around, she made her way to her bedroom. It was another world in there. As soon as she was by herself, truly by herself, Jackie felt herself begin to unravel. Michael cheated. A lot. And her friends knew. It was the worst feeling imaginable. Jackie sank onto her bed and cried.</p>
<p>*****************************************</p>
<p>The next morning Jackie woke up done with crying. Michael Kelso was not worth her crying. Or, for that matter, her losing her friends. Jackie wasn't an idiot. There were only four people she had wanted to see last night after finding Michael, and she wasn't going to let him get in the way of that. Breaking up with Michael, Jackie could handle. But breaking up with all of them she couldn't, so she wouldn't. Screw Michael if he thought she'd stop coming around. In fact, she'd spend extra time every single day looking extra beautiful so he would regret cheating on her with every waking second.</p>
<p>No, Jackie wouldn't spend her days sulking. Following through with her plan, she took extra care to do her hair and makeup while getting dressed.</p>
<p>By the late morning, Jackie was sliding the kitchen door open to the Forman residence. Mrs. Forman was, as usual, at the stove, and Donna and Eric were around the table. Everyone went quiet when she walked in. God, they were so obvious.</p>
<p>Rolling her eyes, she cleared her throat. "Donna, can we talk?"</p>
<p>"Uh...yeah, sure, of course."</p>
<p>Jackie nodded and walked across the room through to the living room, knowing Donna would follow her. Except Mr. Forman was in there yelling at the TV screen. Ugh. Front porch, then. Jackie turned to make sure Donna was there and then gestured towards the door.</p>
<p>Once they got outside and were seated comfortably on the porch stairs, Jackie said, "Okay, Donna, I'm ready to hear your apology now."</p>
<p>Donna gave her a judge-y face then sighed. "Look, Jackie, I'm sorry for not telling you. It was all messed up, and I didn't want to hurt you, so I thought pointing out all the ways Kelso sucked would get you to finally realize that he sucked."</p>
<p>"That's not a very good excuse," Jackie frowned.</p>
<p>"Seriously, Jackie. Kelso's stupid, and he was wrong, and he screwed up. And I'm sorry. It sucks now, but you'll be fine, I promise. You'll be more than fine."</p>
<p>"I know I will, Donna. It's just...Donna, we're supposed to be friends. Would it have killed you to say 'I know you love him, but Michael's a jerk.'"</p>
<p>"Jackie, I think my exact words were 'I know you love him, but Michael's a jerk.'"</p>
<p>Jackie just stared at her hands. She didn't know what else to say.</p>
<p>"So..." Donna continued. "Have you seen Kelso since..?"</p>
<p>"No," Jackie replied quickly. "I mean, he's a liar and a cheater. Ugh, maybe all guys are like that."</p>
<p>"I know how you feel." And then Donna proceeded to complain about Eric as if Eric was a lying, manipulative cheater who didn't care about how she felt. Jackie was not in the mood to listen to Donna's trivial problems right now, and she let Donna know it.</p>
<p>"All right, all right," she said after Jackie told her to can it. "Come on. Let's go try to cheer you up."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donna did a good job of helping Jackie feel like Jackie again, but then she politely told her to get lost so she could have some alone time with Eric, which Jackie did not want to do, so instead she spent her time in Donna's room creating a list of all the ways this breakup would work out in her favour.</p>
<p>"I'm a whole new Jackie!" she concluded to Donna, Eric, and Hyde in the basement later that evening.</p>
<p>"Really?" Hyde asked, "Cause you're babblin' like the old Jackie."</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes and decided not to bother with a response.</p>
<p>The basement door opened and Michael walked in with a sad look on his face. "Jackie," he breathed. "I've been looking for you."</p>
<p>"Here I am," she shrugged. She'd have to do this sooner or later. Batter now that she was feeling good about herself.</p>
<p>"So, you two probably want to be alone," Eric muttered, getting up from his seat.</p>
<p>"No, Forman," Hyde shoved him back down. "How can this not be good? Come on." Even better to have an audience. She definitely wouldn't lose her cool in front of them.</p>
<p>Michael didn't even give them a second glance. He marched over to her and said seriously, "All right. Jackie, I've done some terrible and stupid things. Too many to even list."</p>
<p>"Oh, hey, give it a shot, man, I'll fill in the blanks," Steven interjected.</p>
<p>Jackie knew he was just provoking as usual, but the thought that there was a whole long list she didn't know about made her feel all queasy inside again.</p>
<p>"But I'm done making excuses," Michael continued. "All I can say is...is that I'm sorry and I love you. And I will do whatever I can everyday from now on so that you know that's true."</p>
<p>Great. Now she felt like crying again. She wanted to kick and scream and scrape at him with her nails. Instead she kept her arms folded and her gaze cold.</p>
<p>"So will you please, please, please take me back?"</p>
<p>"Oh, Michael," she whimpered. His words were perfect. They were everything she would have wanted him to say, all the things she yearned to hear. But through the corner of her eyes she could see Donna and Eric looking on with pity, and Hyde licking his popsicle almost bored. No one looked surprised. This was what they expected, she realized. They didn't think she was strong enough to stand up for herself. "No. No. No, you know what? We're through. Forever."</p>
<p>"Woah. Didn't see that comin,'" Hyde's annoying voice spoke up again.</p>
<p>Michael battled with words for several moments but ultimately stayed silent, and left.</p>
<p>As soon as the door closed it became ten times harder for Jackie to hold in the tears. "So um," she said with a cracking voice. "That-that was the smartest thing I've ever done. And, um, the best."</p>
<p>She couldn't hold it in anymore. She rushed forward straight to Hyde. She didn't want Donna or Eric's pity or worthless words of encouragement. At least Hyde wouldn't pretend to feel sad for her. She pretended not to hear Hyde complain, "Why does she always come to me?"</p>
<p>She tightened her grip around his neck and squeezed out tears as he awkwardly patted her back. "Good luck, man," she heard Eric say, followed by, "C'mon, Donna, let's give them some...space."</p>
<p>She could hear the teasing tone in his voice but Jackie didn't care. Eric was a cat killer anyway, she didn't care if he thought she was annoying.</p>
<p>"Man, don't leave-agh. Come on, Jackie, man, don't cry," which made Jackie cry harder, because she hated that she was crying at all, in front of them. Hated that she felt so low despite trying to convince herself it wasn't her fault. Jackie bit a sob into his shoulder. "Ah, crap, okay, come on, let's sit down."</p>
<p>Jackie loosened her hold for a second and Hyde took the opportunity to guide her to the couch, putting down his popsicle before sitting back down next to her. As soon as he was seated her arms were back around him again. Michael's words kept ringing over and over again in her head.</p>
<p>"All right, Jackie, stop it." She didn't. "Jackie!" She squeezed tighter. "Jackie, man, we've been through this, I don't know how to deal with you when you're crying." She ignored him. "Seriously, Jackie, this isn't like last time, I can't just offer you to take you to the prom and-"</p>
<p>At the mention of the prom, Jackie finally let go of him and wailed, "Oh my God, the prom!" She dropped her face into her hands. "It wasn't even the first time. I'm so stupid."</p>
<p>There was a small pause, then Hyde scooted closer. This time, he put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey," he said, his voice much softer than before. "Look at me." With his other hand, he gently pushed Jackie's hands away from her face. Sniffing, Jackie weakly lifted her head up to look up at him. She didn't even want to think about how disgusting her face must look. "Jackie, you gotta stop crying, all right, cause Kelso isn't worth it."</p>
<p>"I just-I don't understand," she hiccuped. "Why? Why wasn't I enough? Should I have been less controlling? Was I-was Laurie just better than me?"</p>
<p>"Hey now, don't get crazy. Laurie's not better than anybody."</p>
<p>"I mean in bed, Steven. Or-or maybe-"</p>
<p>"Stop." With a gentleness she didn't know he had, he tucked her hair behind her ear. "Don't bother yourself with wondering why, okay?. Why don't matter, Jackie. Kelso's just...he doesn't think. Cause he's a moron."</p>
<p>"You all knew."</p>
<p>Hyde grimaced. "Jackie..."</p>
<p>"What, were you all just sitting around laughing at me?" She was starting to get angry again, and she clung to that anger like a life vest. "Did you have some sort of pool happening? Oh, when's stupid, young, naive Jackie gonna realize her boyfriend's sleeping with someone else. God, what a joke. I'm a joke."</p>
<p>"All right, Jackie, listen to me cause I'm only gonna say this once, okay? You're not a joke, and no one here thinks you are. Everyone here thinks Kelso's the joke. No one-and I mean no one-agreed with it or thought it was cool. I dunno, I guess we thought he'd get himself caught. I tried to get him caught like every goddamn day. Maybe, yeah, we should've told you, but we're idiots too. But no one was laughing at you, and no one thinks it was your fault, so please, for the love of God, stop crying."</p>
<p>At some point while he was talking Jackie had stopped crying. Now she just sat staring at him. She didn't know what to say.</p>
<p>"You're way outta his league, anyway. So...not worth it."</p>
<p>Jackie leapt into his arms again. "Oh, Steven," she bit her lip to stop from letting another tear out.</p>
<p>"Quit it with that, will ya?"</p>
<p>She let him go and tried to settle herself, fixing her hair, patting her cheeks dry. She gave him a weak smile.</p>
<p>"Wanna watch TV?"</p>
<p>"Sure," she smiled.</p>
<p>Hyde leaned forward and turned the TV on. They silently watched for a minute before he turned to look at her again and asked, "Hey? You okay now?"</p>
<p>Jackie felt like something got caught in her throat. She knew it meant nothing, but Steven was the only person that asked her that in the past two days. You'll be fine, everyone else had said. And she would. But that question was not the same.</p>
<p>Jackie gave him her first real grin. "I am now."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Life is But a Nightmare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After her break up with Michael, Jackie has the worst dream imaginable. Is her subconscious trying to tell her something?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show.</p><p>Author's Note: This chapter is less of a story and more of a prologue for what the next one will be. Jackie's insecurities and doubts were something that the show referenced or hinted to a lot but never really delved into, so I took a go at behind-the-scenes Jackie when it's just her and her thoughts. And I also thought it would be a good sort of segue into how/why she falls so deep into a crush on Steven. Anyway, so, this one doesn't really occur during an episode, but rather after the one where she catches Kelso and before the one where she takes Hyde to the mall-which we will see in the next chapter :) I originally was going to include this in that chapter, but I thought it would end up being too long, and this does fine as a small stand alone. As always, comment what you think, and thank you for reading :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In her dream, she and Michael hadn't broken up yet. She could see herself lying with him on her soft mattress, her cheeks red and lips swollen after another round of half-hearted sex.</p><p>"Wow," Michael exhaled, folding his arms over his head. "That was awesome. You're really good at that."</p><p>He leaned over and pecked Jackie once more on the lips before he started to get dressed.</p><p>"Wait, Michael," she stopped him, sitting up straight and pulling her sheet over and around her shoulders to cover herself. "Where are you going?"</p><p>"Oh, I told Laurie I'd swing by around 8, so I gotta get going."</p><p>"Laurie?" Jackie repeated disbelievingly.</p><p>"Yeah, well," Michael gave her a face. "Jackie this is fun and all, but you didn't think this was actually gonna be enough for me, did you?" She just stared at him dumbfounded. "You gotta understand, I have needs, and Laurie's a smokin' college chick. I'm not gonna turn that down."</p><p>"But-I thought you loved me."</p><p>At that, Michael smiled, and, now dressed, he sat back down on the bed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I care about you, Jackie. I love having sex with you. You're just...you're a lot to handle, okay? I'm always gonna need a little action on the side to blow some steam off." He leaned forward, kissed her cheek, then said, "I'll see you later."</p><p>Then he got up from her bed, walked out her door, and left.</p><p>************************************</p><p>"ERIC! Your sister is a whore and Michael is a dog. He's cheating on me, you know? Me, Eric! I'm Jackie Burkhart! I don't get cheated on!" It was just the both of them in the basement, and Jackie was not holding herself back.</p><p>Eric gave her a face. "Actually, Jackie, that's exactly why you get cheated on."</p><p>Jackie gasped and placed her hands on her hips. "What is that supposed to mean?"</p><p>Eric shrugged. "It means...well, what did you expect, Jackie? You're demanding, controlling, annoying, and you have awful taste in music."</p><p>"Eric, how can you say that to me? I thought you hated the idea of Michael with Laurie!"</p><p>"I do hate the idea of Michael with Laurie. Doesn't change anything I said."</p><p>"So, what, you're saying I'm destined to be cheated on? Am I just so intolerable and unloveable that it's okay for Michael to cheat with YOUR SISTER?"</p><p>Eric grinned up at her and flashed her two thumbs up. "Exactly! I knew you'd catch on."</p><p>******************************************</p><p>"Fez, I'm sad." Jackie had been having the worst day ever. After announcing that she hated Eric Forman more than anything in the world, she had stormed off to the Hub in search of anyone who wasn't Michael or Eric. And thank God, Fez was there. Fez always made her feel better. Well, not always, but plenty.</p><p>"What is wrong, Jackie?" Fez sang, patting the seat next to him. "Talk to Fez."</p><p>"Well, I just found out today from Michael that he's been cheating on me for months with Laurie! And he wasn't even sorry about it. And then, when I tried to talk to Eric about it, he just told me I deserved it because I'm obsessive and controlling."</p><p>"Oh, you poor thing," Fez sighed, placing an arm around her shoulders and rubbing her back gently.</p><p>"I know!" she cried. "I just need someone to tell me I'm pretty and totally loveable right now."</p><p>"Well, Jackie, I think you are pretty and loveable."</p><p>Jackie looked at him hopefully. "You do?"</p><p>"Of course!"</p><p>"Oh, Fez!" she leaned into him and hugged him, and he hugged her back eagerly, until someone cleared their throat loudly in front of them. They both looked up to find a pretty, curvy blonde glaring down at them, with both hands on her hips and pure evil in her eyes.</p><p>"Fez," she began. "Why don't you let go of this cheerleader and come with me to my house so we can have sex?"</p><p>"Ummm..." Fez's eyes danced nervously between the girl and Jackie.</p><p>"Get out of here, you skank!" Jackie yelled. "Can't you see he's busy comforting me?"</p><p>The girl promptly ignored her and cocked her head at Fez. "Well?"</p><p>"Well..." Fez said, still sounding unsure. "Well, I guess..." He stood up from Jackie and started gathering his things.</p><p>Jackie pulled his hand back. "Fez! I thought you were comforting me."</p><p>"Jackie," he sighed. "What are the chances that after I comfort you and tell you nice things and hug you that Fez will get come some action tonight?"</p><p>Jackie blinked. "Uh, zero."</p><p>Fez threw up his hands as if that explained everything. "Then you are not worth it," he said simply, and he grabbed the blonde's hand and left.</p><p>************************************</p><p>After Fez left, Jackie wasn't sure what to do or where to go. She felt hopeless and worthless. In the end she decided to go to Donna's and pray for the best. But as she was walking by the Forman's yard, she saw Steven shooting hoops by himself. For some reason, her feet carried her over to him.</p><p>"Steven," she cried, running up to him and throwing her arms around her neck dramatically.</p><p>"Woah, princess, slow it down," he said as he pulled her off of him.</p><p>"Steven, everyone's being mean and rude to me today."</p><p>"I thought everyone was mean and rude to you everyday."</p><p>"No! No, Steven, everyone loves me! I'm cute and loveable and everyone loves to hang out with me."</p><p>"Oh, I get it. My turn-I'm super happy, I love unicorns, and I'm a joy to be around!"</p><p>"This isn't a joke!"</p><p>"Well what do you want me to say?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>"That I'm cute and loveable and everyone else in the world sucks."</p><p>"Jackie, you're abrasive, controlling, and obsessive."</p><p>"But?"</p><p>"But?"</p><p>"There has to be a 'but!'"</p><p>He shrugged. Jackie slumped. This was it. She had hit rock bottom.</p><p>"But you are cute. And you're not unloveable."</p><p>Jackie's head snapped up. She stared at him.</p><p>***************************************</p><p>Then she woke up.</p><p>Jackie's heart was pounding faster than it ever had. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, she chanted to herself over and over as she swung her legs off her bed and walked into her bathroom.</p><p>More like nightmare, she thought, splashing cold water all over her face. She had thought yesterday was the worst she could feel. Heck, she had even started to feel better after wasting time with Steven in the basement watching TV and making stupid comments. Eventually Eric had come down and joined them, and the three of them formed a temporary alliance until it got late enough that she could tell she was overstaying her welcome.</p><p>Now self-doubt filled all her senses again. What did it mean? Was she really all those awful things Eric had said? Did Michael not love her at all? Was she really so awful that even Fez could not see past her layers of makeup? And why was Hyde the only person not out of character in her dream? He hadn't been any more rude to her as he usually was. He'd even called her cute.</p><p>The spoiled rich kid in her wanted to kick up a fit. Scream and kick and roll on the floor and break things that could be replaced the next day. She didn't. Instead she looked in the mirror, and like a crazy person, spoke to herself, "You are Jackie Burkhart. You are the prettiest girl in Point Place and you will not let someone like Michael Kelso bring you down."</p><p>She turned off her bathroom light and climbed back into her bed. She checked the time on her alarm clock. It was 3:47. Still far too early but Jackie had no intent to go back to sleep. So, turning on her night light, she picked up a pen and her diary and began scribbling. She had big plans for tomorrow. Well actually, a plan.</p><p>Jackie's nightmare could mean a lot of things, but right now, she was sticking to two feelings. First, that Michael was a jerk, Eric was mean, and Fez was an idiot. And second, that Steven Hyde always made her feel just a little bit better. So maybe her dream was trying to tell her something. Something she had never even considered. Jackie bit her lip. Tomorrow's goal would be to befriend Steven Hyde.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. A Day with the Devil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jackie somehow ropes Hyde into spending the entire day with her. It's not as bad as he thought it would be. </p>
<p>Takes place during 2x21 (Kelso's Serenade)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>Author's Note: Okay, I know it's been a couple more days than usual, but that's cause this chapter is the longest I've ever written BY FAR. And I hope I did it justice because I consider this day one of the most pivotal moments in Jackie and Hyde's relationships but we don't get to see much of the in-between moments for this episode. So this takes place during 2x21, and while *most* of the original dialogue is there, this chapter has a LOT of new parts/scenes that I added, and I also kind of altered the way their talk in the car went afterward. Not too much, but...you'll see. Once again, thank you for reading, and feel free to comment and let me know what you think :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyde was doing his penance for being nice to Jackie yesterday. After prom, he had promised himself he was done being selfless. And, okay fine, maybe reluctantly offering comfort to a crying girl wasn't exactly 'selfless,' but it definitely took more of him than he was ever willing to give to her. Like his pride. To get through to her, Hyde had to use a tone of voice he didn't even know he had. And, God, if she told anyone he had told her she was out of Kelso's league he would never live that down.</p>
<p>They hadn't watched TV for too long last night when she decided she'd had far too long a day and should probably head home. Hyde had considered offering her a ride, but he had to draw the line somewhere, and after consoling her, talking to her softly, and hugging her for an extended period of time, he wasn't feeling very giving. So he watched her leave with a nod goodbye. The second the door had closed behind her, his entire body sagged like he had just got done working all day. Dammit she was a lot to take in.</p>
<p>Now, Hyde hated to throw pity parties, but he was almost certain he had the rottenest luck. Ever. After last night, he had been sure he reached his Jackie-limit and made specific plans to not hang out with her for at least a week. But, no, Jackie had other ideas. And of course, when she clobbered into the basement around noon the next day, he was the only one in there.</p>
<p>"Steven, hey!" That was the other thing. Lately she'd been calling him Steven instead of Hyde like everyone else. At first he tried to ignore it, but after the tenth time or so, it was becoming painfully obvious. It wasn't the biggest deal, but something about the way she said it got under his skin. "I was hoping you'd be here."</p>
<p>"I live here."</p>
<p>"Well, yeah, but I was hoping you weren't, you know, out cruisin' or whatever it is you do when you're not here."</p>
<p>He sighed. "I wish I was, but here I am."</p>
<p>Jackie grinned innocently and perched herself on top of the deep freeze. She sighed loudly and contentedly, looking around the entire basement. "You know, it's weird. But I thought after me and Michael broke up, I wouldn't want to hang out here anymore."</p>
<p>"Yup. That's what we were hoping."</p>
<p>"But I think if I left, you'd really miss me." Hyde almost paused his laundry folding. This chick was insane. More insane than he'd originally thought. "Right?"</p>
<p>Damn her. If she thought he'd be the same too-nice Hyde to her again she had another thing coming. He would not be her shoulder to cry on. Anymore. He cleared his throat. "I, uh, I suppose that, um, you know, it's important when you have a bad breakup that you find friends to, uh...uh, sympathetic, uh, stuff...um, support, and uh. I don't know." He stopped rambling and grinned. How was that for not helpful at all?</p>
<p>She gave him a blank look but didn't take the bait. "Right. So let's go to the mall." She suggested it as if it were a normal thing. As if he enjoyed the mall. As if he enjoyed her company.</p>
<p>"No, I meant friends like Donna," he explained. "Not me."</p>
<p>And that was the last of the laundry. Time to make his escape. With a dismissing smile, he grabbed his pile of clothes and turned his back on her, walking to his room. It was his own fault to assume that she would actually leave him alone, the brat.</p>
<p>"But I notice you're alone a lot!" she insisted, following behind him. "And I'm alone a lot, so let's be alone together!" It was so untrue Hyde could almost laugh. In all the time he'd known her, he didn't think he'd ever seen Jackie alone once. She was probably the least-alone person he knew. "Look, we're alone right now!"</p>
<p>Jesus, how long would this go on. He shoved past her and walked back out his door. "That's not really a very good reason for us to-"</p>
<p>"Wait, hold on," she held up her hands to stop him from talking. "Let's go to Sizzler. They've got a salad bar. It's all you can eat. Plus, five different colours of Jello." She was, perhaps, an evil genius. An insistent, unwavering, spoiled evil genius. "I'll buy!"</p>
<p>Ah hell, putting up with her for a little while couldn't be that bad. Especially not if food was involved. "You've been through a rough time," he decided, "Let's go, kid."</p>
<p>She nodded triumphantly and marched out the door after him so happily it was almost cute. Almost.</p>
<p>****************************************</p>
<p>There were many skills Hyde had mastered over the years. How to pickpocket, how to roll a blunt, and he considered himself a master liar. But his most useful asset was observance. People looked at Hyde and automatically assumed he was flippant, uncaring-and he was-but he noticed things all the same. He walked into every room and measured it up, took in his surroundings, listened to conversations, studied body language, all while looking extremely bored.</p>
<p>So he could tell that something was up with Jackie. She had just been through a break up, sure, but rather than sad she sounded almost desperate (which he knew she would hate that he noticed). He guessed that could be a result of the break up too, but after last night, he wasn't sure.</p>
<p>"Oh my God, this is so good. Steven, taste this."</p>
<p>Jackie also did everything intensely. Every word she spoke, everything she did, she did as if she were pouring out her heart, soul, and passion into it. Even her eyes, whether they were sad or not, always glistened with intensity so bright Hyde often avoided looking into them. He was slightly scared she would turn him to stone.</p>
<p>So when she leaned forward over the table and stuck a fork in his face, he shamelessly jumped back as though the fork were a sharp pair of scissors. "Jesus, woman, take a chill pill."</p>
<p>"No, really, you have to try this. You know, Daddy says slummy places like this are all about making the money and not the food, but, really, this is amazing. Not as good as Mrs. Forman's cooking, of course, but then, she-"</p>
<p>Hyde grabbed the fork away from her and shoved it into his mouth just so he could get her to stop talking. "Well?" she asked expectantly.</p>
<p>"'s great," Hyde replied with, his mouth full and tone empty.</p>
<p>"You know what, Hyde?" she continued, barreling on to the next thing on her mind. "I think this is good for me. Getting out, hanging out with someone that's not Michael. Don't you think so?"</p>
<p>"Sure," Hyde grinned. "Still don't know why it's gotta be me, though."</p>
<p>"Well, I can't take Eric anywhere. If he didn't bore me to death I would die from embarrassment just for being seen with him." She shuddered, the mere idea of spending quality time with Forman giving her chills.</p>
<p>"What, and you can be seen with me?"</p>
<p>"You may be poor and a little...untidy, but you're all mysterious. Much less of a reputation killer. Anyway, Fez would be great to shop with if I wasn't worried he'd try to get into the dressing room with me."</p>
<p>"Valid," he shrugged. "But you like Donna."</p>
<p>"Sometimes."</p>
<p>"Most times."</p>
<p>"Well maybe I just like hanging out with you."</p>
<p>Hyde snorted. "Since when?"</p>
<p>"Since I realized you're actually really cool," she said with a smile, definitively, as if she had thought about it for a while and finally decided that cool was the best word to use.</p>
<p>"It took you this long to realize that?"</p>
<p>She rolled her eyes slightly again-she did that a lot, he was noticing. "At least you are when you're not being so difficult."</p>
<p>"Yeah, well," Hyde shrugged as if to say what're you gonna do? and finished his pop with a loud slurp.</p>
<p>Jackie made a slightly annoyed face at the sound. Hyde slurped again, louder.</p>
<p>"Did you enjoy your lunch?" She was trying so damn hard to be polite and it was getting under his skin.</p>
<p>"Lunch was all right." He got up and stretched before glancing down at her, still sitting, all prim and proper, pristine and perfect. He silently berated himself for looking at Jackie and thinking the word 'perfect,' then berated himself even more for thinking so much words that began with the letter 'p' and vowed never to think about Jackie in a way that would inspire alliteration again. "You done? If we get going now I might still have time to watch Kelso, Fez, or Forman look like idiots at whatever it is they decided to do today."</p>
<p>Jackie cleared her throat and stood up. She smiled sickeningly up at him and grabbed his arm as she began to steer them towards the door, linking her arm through his. His body stiffened at the contact, but he let her, watching her carefully through squinted eyes. When they got to the door he pushed it open with his free hand and ushered her out first, almost instinctively. His blood boiled at the satisfied smile on her face. "Now, Steven," she said slowly. "I was really hoping you'd change your mind about going to the mall."</p>
<p>Hyde ripped his hands from hers. "No."</p>
<p>"Oh, but-"</p>
<p>He marched toward her car. "No, Jackie, I do not do malls. In fact, I hate malls. And I hate shopping."</p>
<p>"But I bought you lunch!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, you bought me lunch because you practically begged to buy me lunch. So you're welcome."</p>
<p>"But don't you like spending time with me?" She pouted and folded her arms, and Hyde would be damned if he fell for that look she was giving him. They finally got to her car and he leaned against the hood to look at her.</p>
<p>"Not really," he answered staring her straight in the eye.</p>
<p>"I thought we were friends!"</p>
<p>He looked at her like she was crazy. "Not really!"</p>
<p>"Fine!" she stomped to the drivers seat and threw herself in dramatically.</p>
<p>He rolled his eyes at her performance. "Look, Jackie, I don't even get what the big deal is," he said, sliding into the passenger side. "Just ask one of your other friends to go shopping with you. I'm sure they'll make better company than I would."</p>
<p>"No they wouldn't," she said stubbornly.</p>
<p>"Would too."</p>
<p>"Yeah, well maybe I don't have any other friends, Steven, did you think about that?"</p>
<p>"Bullshit. I see you at school all the time with your posse of overenthusiastic cheerleaders or whoever the hell else is in your Jackie Burkhart Fan Club."</p>
<p>"Oh, please. They're all fake and bitchy and they all suck to hang around for more than an hour." Hyde decided not to point out that she was also all of those things. "Plus none of them actually care about me."</p>
<p>So that was what this was about. She thought he cared about her. God dammit, he knew he shouldn't have spent so much time trying to get her to stop crying. Now she thought he cared. Which he didn't. He guessed. Did he? Were they friends?</p>
<p>"Dammit!" he exclaimed out loud. "Let's go to the freakin' mall."</p>
<p>Jackie's saucer eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really? Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" She jumped in his arms much like she had yesterday and squeezed them around his neck until he felt like he was suffocating.</p>
<p>"If you don't get off me in the next three seconds I'm changing my mind."</p>
<p>Jackie pulled herself off and turned the key in the ignition, a huge smile on her face.</p>
<p>******************************************</p>
<p>Hyde was starting to see an awful pattern. A godawful pattern. One he should have never fallen victim to. Whenever something possessed Jackie to choose him to cling to, she sunk her claws in until he went against all his instincts and gave in: took her to prom, hugged her when she was crying, complimented her, spent the day with her, went to the frickin' mall-and the pattern always ended with him completely regretting whatever it was he'd given into.</p>
<p>That was about where he was at now, staring impatiently at a clock on the wall while he waited for Jackie in the dressing room. Every second was agonizing. If Jackie was anybody else... Well, if Jackie was anybody else he probably would have agreed to go to the mall, with the understanding, of course, that he'd be getting some kind of action in return. And also the relaxing knowledge that mall trips wouldn't be regular and neither would she. But Jackie wasn't anybody; Jackie was a pest. A spoiled brat. Kelso's ex-girlfriend (however long that would last). His friend, by the loosest definition of the word.</p>
<p>Jackie, in her entirety, was completely confusing. All his life, Hyde knew who he was, who his people were, and where he stood with them. Edna was his mom, and try as he might, he couldn't hate her, though he knew she resented him. Kitty and Red were the closest things he ever had and would ever have to parents. He cared for them and they cared for him. Kelso was one of his oldest friends and Hyde had had more fun with him than anyone else in the world. Hyde had been the one to decide they would take Fez under their wing, and he spent as much time encouraging him to get into trouble as he did helping him get out of it. Forman was his best friend and the only person in the world who knew what Hyde was thinking without Hyde having to say it-they took care of each other. Donna was tricky, because Hyde had liked her at one point, but still, he knew they had a mutual understanding that despite anything that had happened in the past, they were in it for the long haul. And there, on seven fingers, Hyde could count all the people he'd ever cared about in life.</p>
<p>Jackie unsettled him because he didn't hate her like he claimed to, and he didn't detest her presence. He was wary of calling her friend, seeing as he could hardly listen to a word she said without wanting to bang his head into a wall. And yet, he was at the mall with Jackie Burkhart. The fact she could cause him such internal disorientation simply by existing only made her more annoying. His patience was very quickly wearing thin.</p>
<p>"What do you think?" she exited the dressing room and from the corner of his eye he could see her twirl around in something purple.</p>
<p>"Fantastic," he said, still glaring at the clock. "Now let's get the hell out of here."</p>
<p>"You didn't even look at me."</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes and looked at her. She was wearing a dress. She looked good. That was as far as he let his mind wander. "Fantastic. Now let's get the hell out of here."</p>
<p>"You really think so?" she asked, hand over her heart.</p>
<p>Hyde bit his tongue. "Jackie-"</p>
<p>"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Give me two seconds to get this off and then we'll get out of here. Sorry. Two seconds. Promise." She held out two fingers then scooted herself back into the dressing room. Hyde leaned his head against the wall, closed his eyes, and waited.</p>
<p>More than two seconds later, Jackie shuffled out the door and he felt her cold hands grip his arms. "All right, grumpy. Come on, next stop."</p>
<p>"No. No, Jackie, I'm serious this time. I'll walk back home if you won't leave this place. Wait-you're not even gonna buy that crap you tried on?"</p>
<p>"God, no, there were like a whole rack left of the same exact dress. I don't buy dresses that everybody else in Point Place already own." She sighed halfheartedly, barely even listening to a word he was saying. "Just trust me this time, all right, you won't regret it."</p>
<p>"I already regret it."</p>
<p>"See, we're here already." The only good thing about Point Place's mall is that it's as small as the rest of the town is so it didn't take long to get to any store in it.</p>
<p>"Don't care. I'm leavin.'"</p>
<p>"You can't leave, Steven, this is for you!"</p>
<p>"Jackie, I can assure you, I am not having any fun."</p>
<p>"No, I mean, your boots are really ugly. And old. And stink probably." Hyde blinked. "That's why I'm buying you new ones!"</p>
<p>"You're-what?"</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes (again) and took that moment to steer him into the store. It was a fairly basic store, with fairly nice shoes, and fairly helpful employees. Nothing overly fancy, but Jackie still pranced her way to the nearest employee. "Excuse me," she announced her presence. "My friend here desperately needs new boots, so I'm gonna need you to bring me all your best options, size 11-in season, of course. Nothing trashy."</p>
<p>The poor guy looks at her blankly and opens his mouth, probably to tell her that this wasn't the kind of place that brought the shoes to you. But then Jackie stuck out a crisp twenty dollar bill, and the guy was sold. "Be right back, ma'am," he smiled widely and makes his way to the back of the store.</p>
<p>"Jackie," Hyde cleared his throat. "You don't gotta buy me boots."</p>
<p>"Don't be silly," she insisted. "I want to. As a thank you for coming to the mall with me even though you didn't want to. Besides, can you really tell me those boots aren't one Kelso-sized mistake away from falling right off your foot."</p>
<p>Hyde shook his head and let himself sit down on one of the benches in the store. "Whatever," he mumbled.</p>
<p>Jackie gave him her triumphant smile (he was beginning to learn she had different smiles for different occasions that served different purposes) and sat down next to him, crossing her legs.</p>
<p>He didn't have anything to say, so he didn't say anything, and to his surprise, neither did she, resorting to humming some ABBA song softly under her breath-he only knew it was ABBA because she had spent an entire day once claiming rights to the record player and blaring the song on repeat. After a few minutes of oddly comfortable silence, the store's employee walked back towards them, balancing several shoe boxes in his arms.</p>
<p>"Here we are, ma'am," he spoke to Jackie, setting the boxes down neatly. "This season's finest."</p>
<p>"Awesome!" she clapped her hands. "Steven, aren't you excited? Here, try this one first."</p>
<p>She picked the first box off the pile and handed it to him, showcasing one of her many smiles. Her energy was almost contagious, and Hyde reminded himself not to laugh at how excited she got over watching him try on shoes. It was ridiculous. He gave her a half smile and took the box from her hands.</p>
<p>Taking his time, he slid off the ugly, old, and honestly, stinky, boots off his feet and put on the new ones. They were nice-definitely the nicest shoes he'd ever worn, he could feel as much. But he wasn't sure what to say. He'd never gone shoe shopping before.</p>
<p>"Well, go on, walk in them, see how they feel," Jackie nudged.</p>
<p>He glared at her. "I'm not gonna model around here in different pairs of boots."</p>
<p>"Fine," she dismissed the idea. "Well what do you think?"</p>
<p>Hyde shrugged. "They're cool."</p>
<p>Jackie stood up from next to him and planted herself in front of him instead, her eyes scraping him up and down. Something about having Jackie study him so intently made him feel awkward. She was so judgmental, he didn't even want to know what she was thinking.</p>
<p>"No. No. The colour is all wrong. Look, nothing is going to match with a brown that colour. All those black shirts you wear-no way. Next."</p>
<p>Hyde wasn't in the position to argue so he did as he was told and tried on the next pair. Then the next after that. Despite himself, he actually laughed out loud when Jackie mimed barfing at the sight of the fourth pair of shoes and tossed the box back to the employee like she was playing hot potato.</p>
<p>"All right, there's only two left. This store has to have at least one decent pair of boots." Her voice had a dangerous edge to it as she directed her words to the unfortunate worker. Hyde chuckled watching the guy take the smallest step back. She had the ability to make anyone scared of her. It was sort of admirable.</p>
<p>"Fifth time's the charm," she joked, handing him the next box.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, that's what you said about numbers two and three."</p>
<p>"This'll be the one, I can feel it. Watch, I'm not even gonna look until they're on, so I won't judge beforehand." She squeezed her eyes shut and then covered them with her right hand for good measure. Without her watching, Hyde grinned. The earlier tension had slowly dissipated as he tried on shoes, she judged them, and they both took turns frightening the store attendant.</p>
<p>"All right, you can look now," Hyde said when he finished putting on the boots.</p>
<p>Jackie re-took her spot in front of him, eyes still shut, and slowly lowered her hand. She gasped, her other hand flying to cover her mouth now.</p>
<p>"What?" he asked incredulously.</p>
<p>"I love them! Oh my God, Steven they're perfect. You have to walk around in these ones, c'mon, get up."</p>
<p>Rolling his eyes, Steven stood up and took one meager step. "They're fine. You like 'em? Cool," he looked over his shoulder to the cowering attendant. "We'll take 'em."</p>
<p>"No no no, we have to be absolutely sure first. They feel okay? Can you run in them?"</p>
<p>"Jackie, I am not running through this store."</p>
<p>"Okay, but can you dance in them?"</p>
<p>"Jackie, I am not dancing in this store."</p>
<p>"Well, if you're not going to cooperate-"</p>
<p>"I've been cooperating all day!"</p>
<p>"Come on, if you don't move around just a little how will you know if they're perfect?"</p>
<p>"I can feel it," he promised. "These are the shoes for me. Can we go now?"</p>
<p>"Look, just dance me, then we'll know."</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"Yes! Watch."</p>
<p>Taking him off guard, Jackie slipped her hand in his, clasping on with an iron grip, then spun herself out, making a spectacle of herself as she did so. For a second, she paused, their hands (forcefully) outstretched between each other. Jackie grinned at him. Hyde glared at her. Did she not realize she was the only one that was moving? Then she spun back in, twirling herself into his arms until she was standing flush against him.</p>
<p>And then Jackie dipped herself. Not holding onto his hand nearly as tight, she leaned far back, like she wanted to knock her head on the floor and Jesus, she's insane. Like, actually, legitimately mental. Hyde stumbled forward, almost tripping over the goddamn boots, and tightened his grip around her waist so she wouldn't give herself a concussion.</p>
<p>"See?" Hyde stared into her eyes and wondered if she knew she was crazy. She had a hand curled around his neck. "You move great in them!"</p>
<p>"You're crazy," he told her, swinging her back upright.</p>
<p>With her hand still wrapped tight around his shoulder and his around her waist, Jackie smiled at the attendant. "We'll take them!"</p>
<p>****************************************</p>
<p>It was dark by the time they were finally getting back in her car to head back home, but the mood was incredibly lighter than it had been all day. "Y'know, Jackie, you buying me boots is just wrong," he said as he climbed in. "You should've let me shoplift 'em. Would've made that employee even more scared of us," he joked.</p>
<p>"No, Hyde, I want you to have them," she insisted. "Besides, I'm saving a fortune now that I don't have to feed and clothe Michael."</p>
<p>"Well, if you insist."</p>
<p>"I do. So, I was thinking, tomorrow night-" The concept of 'tomorrow' completely jarred Hyde back to reality-that he was on his way home from shopping with Jackie Burkhart all day. The concept of 'tomorrow' was not one he wanted to visit. "We should, you know-"</p>
<p>"Woah, woah, okay. All right now, come on now, Jackie. This was a one time only thing, all right? And if you're trying to bribe me with these boots, man, you can just take 'em back."</p>
<p>Jackie got a look then. A sad, almost frightened look. "I see."</p>
<p>"Oh, what're you gonna do now, cry?"</p>
<p>Jackie stared straight ahead. He could see her jaw tighten and her eyes glisten, and why did he hate it so much when she cried?</p>
<p>"Oh man you're crying." She shook her head no at the same time a tear fell down her cheek. "Hey, Jackie." After today, at least, he felt less awkward putting an arm around her should and shuffling in closer to her. "Come on, man. It's gonna be fine, okay? You're gonna be fine." She still wasn't looking at him. An odd surge of protectiveness washed over Hyde as he looked at her. He brushed stray pieces of hair behind her ear and promised, "This whole thing is gonna be fine. All right?"</p>
<p>She stared ahead a little bit longer and then turned to look at him, as intensely as she did everything else. Then she leaned forward, and before Hyde could even think about what was about to happen she was cupping his cheek and kissing him. He allowed it for all of one second before he jumped back and held her at arms length.</p>
<p>"No! Bad Jackie!"</p>
<p>"But, Hyde, I thought we agreed that you were alone and I was alone..."</p>
<p>His shoulders fell as his tone softened again. She was staring at him so openly and vulnerable it was impossible not to want to make her feel better. He wondered if this was what Donna dealt with all the time. Or if this look and those tears and that sadness was something she only showed him, almost in the same way only she could get him to be less on edge - still zen, still cool and collected, but less harsh. Softer when he spoke. The idea unsettled him.</p>
<p>Kelso was a dumbass.</p>
<p>"Jackie, I'm trying to help you out here all right, so just listen to me. You gotta realize you can do better than Kelso."</p>
<p>"But, Hyde, in my dream-" She broke off her sentence and buried her face in her hands, presumably crying again, dammit.</p>
<p>"What dream?" She shook her head in her hands. With a deep breath, Hyde shifted closer again and lightly pulled her hands away from her face. "Hey, I'm gonna need you to stop crying, got it? We can talk but...no more crying over Kelso."</p>
<p>"Hyde, last night I dreamed that everyone told me no one would ever love me. Michael told me I would never be enough for him, Fez told me I wasn't worth it to wait around for, Eric said he wasn't surprised I got cheated on. What if they're right? What if I never find anybody else?"</p>
<p>"Jackie," he sighed deeply. Of course her idea of a worst nightmare would be people not loving her. "You will, man, you'll find somebody great. You're not unlovable."</p>
<p>Her eyes widened even more then, she looked at him as if he'd just offered her the moon and the stars. Hyde didn't like that, so he added for good measure, "You see, I, myself, don't like you." Her look changed from one of worship to an incredulous, disbelieving one. Good. "I find you abrasive. But if I didn't know you and I had never talked to you, I'd think you were totally hot."</p>
<p>It did the trick. Jackie's glare softened and she said, "Thank you, Hyde," and smiled at him.</p>
<p>Hyde smiled back. "Anything for you, doll."</p>
<p>**********************************************</p>
<p>Back in the basement, it was almost like the day had never happened. Jackie yapped on and on about something or the other (Hyde wasn't exactly listening), she flipped through magazines and made fun of people. Hyde watched TV and laughed along when he felt like it. It was like any other day in the basement, except for the fact that they didn't hate each other's presence.</p>
<p>"Kelso'll probably be back here soon," he said so that he could gauge her reaction. If any part of her seemed weak or sad again he'd whisk her out of there and back home. After all the work he'd put in today, he was not going to let her fall back into Kelso's arms. Not today at least.</p>
<p>But she only shrugged his words off like they meant nothing. "Who cares? He was probably off shacking up with some other chick who's definitely not hotter than me."</p>
<p>Hyde smiled and got up from his chair to pat her shoulder. "There we go. You'll be just fine. Want a soda?"</p>
<p>"Ooh, yeah," she replied, still buried in her magazine.</p>
<p>Hyde nodded and ran up the stairs and into the kitchen. Mrs. Forman was in there, of course, making dinner. As he was opening the fridge she asked him, "Steven, honey, I haven't seen you all day. Where ya been?"</p>
<p>"Oh, I was with Jackie today. She was taking it pretty hard after the break up, so. thought I'd try to cheer her up."</p>
<p>"Well that was very nice of you," she said sounding surprised.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, she bought me lunch." He frowned, staring at his feet. "And boots."</p>
<p>Mrs. Forman glanced down at the boots and gave him a side eye. "Those are lovely boots."</p>
<p>Hyde gave her a weird look, not understanding the weird look she was giving him. "Right, well...later, Mrs. Forman."</p>
<p>He left before she could say anything else, making his way down the stairs; before he could see them, he could hear Fez and Kelso. And so it's begun.</p>
<p>"Hey, what's goin' on?" he said, making his presence known to the other two.</p>
<p>"Nothing," Jackie responded, taking the soda from him as he sat down. "Nothing at all." She turned her back to Kelso completely and added, "Thank you, Hyde, for tonight. It was very special." Hyde almost laughed out loud when he caught on to what she was doing. But he wasn't gonna ruin her plan, so he shrugged and let her kiss him on the cheek, very close to his mouth, and for good measure, watched her with interest as she walked away.</p>
<p>He reveled in the look Kelso gave him and how high his voice got as he screamed "UH!"</p>
<p>He made a mental note to remember all this so he could repeat it to Jackie, who would undoubtedly ask him about it. "Isn't she nice?" he asked Kelso nodding towards the door Jackie just walked through. He couldn't stop the sly smile that formed as he lifted his soda to his mouth. "Hey, fellas, like my new boots?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Zenmasters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hyde gives Jackie Zen lessons and introduces her to the circle, and Jackie makes him laugh more than he has in a long time.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>Author's Note: Hey guys. So this is my write-up of what happens before, during, and after Hyde and Jackie's zen lessons. I think this has to be one of the most pivotal times of their relationship because after this is when we jump into Jackie's straight obsession with Hyde, and as we know, somewhere along the way Hyde starts to like her, even though he doesn't know it yet. Ah, the slow burn. But I also used this to really start to build a foundation for their friendship because I love their friendship almost as much as I love their relationship. So in short, this basically all fluff. Hope you guys like it. Let me know :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She'd been spending way more time in the basement lately, which wasn't all that surprising. What was all that surprising was that Hyde didn't loathe her unending presence. Sure she still talked everyone's head off, and he snapped at her about a dozen times a day to shut her trap, but it was more for the sake of doing it than because he hated her. Cause he didn't hate her. It was more like a dull, painless dislike than the fierce, gripping kind he'd held for her once upon a time.</p>
<p>They'd fallen into something of a truce recently, since she'd started hanging around so much. It was almost enjoyable. And with Forman still bashing her every chance he got and Fez being, well, Fez, he found himself taking her side a lot, and they teamed up against the other two quite a bit.</p>
<p>The last couple days, for instance, they'd been spending their time playing monopoly, and helping each other out mainly to annoy the other two. Course, every single time she won (or at least, was in the lead when Fez got irritated and knocked over the board).</p>
<p>Today Kelso and Laurie disgraced them with their presence halfway through a game, and the mood changed instantly.</p>
<p>She still wasn't over him, and tensed up every time he was in her vicinity, her voice climbing a couple octaves higher too. She was so damn transparent. She threw out one good burn, calling Laurie Kelso's community chest, which Hyde thought was pretty awesome, but then got flustered and lost all her cool when Laurie insulted a damn unicorn tie.</p>
<p>Man, Kelso had the worst taste in girls. Hyde physically felt his stomach turn when Laurie reached up and kissed him, mumbling sultrily, "See ya tonight."</p>
<p>He didn't even have the decency to look guilty for Jackie, who was now pouting into her hands, or Forman who looked like he was about to puke. Way to ruin their game. Fez must've been along the same lines of thinking, cause he stretched his arm out and flipped over the game board, sending cards and game pieces flying all over the room.</p>
<p>"Well now you have ruined everyone's day," Fez huffed, getting up from the couch. "I hope you are happy. Now good day."</p>
<p>He stepped past Kelso towards the door, who pleaded, "C'mon, Fez-"</p>
<p>"I said good day!"</p>
<p>Now Kelso looked upset. "Aw, man." He launched himself towards the door and ran after Fez, yelling and screaming for him to come back.</p>
<p>"What a moron," Hyde declared, stretching back onto his chair.</p>
<p>"I know," Forman agreed, shaking his head. "I take it back, Jackie. You can stay here as long as you want as long as it means the she-devil stays out."</p>
<p>"God, Michael just makes me so angry. He thinks he can just come in here flaunting his slutty new girlfriend. As if I care! Because I don't! Because Michael sucks. And he cheated on me. And I'm so much prettier. You think I'm prettier, don't you Eric?" She turned to her side, casting her wide eyes on him.</p>
<p>In true Forman-fashion, he sputtered and mumbled, "Yeah, er, uh, this...sounds like a trick question. So I'm just gonna...yeah." He raced up the basement stairs in seconds. Hyde rolled his eyes and Jackie pouted again, folding her arms against her chest.</p>
<p>Not wanting her to turn to him next, Hyde wordlessly got up and went to his room to fetch the shoe polish and a cloth. When he re-entered the common space, Jackie was pacing up and down, visibly fuming. He walked around her, sat on his chair, and pulled off the boots she had bought him not that long ago. She huffed out loud angry breaths, clearly trying to get him to ask her what her problem was.</p>
<p>He didn't.</p>
<p>"You know what?" she blurted out finally.</p>
<p>He grunted a response.</p>
<p>"Laurie makes me so mad. I just wanna rip out her hair, show it to her, and hope it doesn't grow back." She ended with her hands on her hips and her eyebrows furrowed, mouth pressed into a thin line. Man, she was so easy to read. "I hate her," she finished for good measure. He could tell.</p>
<p>"Jackie," Hyde spoke finally, trying to figure out how to explain this in the easiest way possible. "That's what she wants. She feeds on your anger, man, it only makes her stronger." He went back to wiping down his boots as Jackie digested that information.</p>
<p>She raised her arms to her sides, asking curiously, "Well then what am I supposed to do?"</p>
<p>Hyde considered it for a moment, then decided what the hell, Jackie needed someone to teach her to be less...insane. "If you really wanna get under her skin, you have to be zen."</p>
<p>She gave him a look then rolled her eyes. "Zen? Okay, you can't just make up words, Hyde."</p>
<p>Hyde chuckled. "No, man, zen! At peace. Aloof. Zen." He rolled his arm in a wave that was supposed to symbolize all the words he just said.</p>
<p>Jackie dropped all pretenses of being angry and responded with a soft, "Oh. Okay then. Hyde, will you teach me how to be zen?"</p>
<p>"You can't just teach someone how to be zen, Jackie, you can only learn to be zen."</p>
<p>Another blank look. She shook her head. "Okay I don't understand."</p>
<p>Hyde smiled. "Exactly. And that's your first lesson."</p>
<p>Jackie looked so confused it made him want to smile a little wider. "Huh?" This could be fun.</p>
<p>"Jackie, if you want to be my student, you have to follow my instructions without question."</p>
<p>"Okay, okay, see. I can do that." She sat on the couch excitedly and folded her legs, proper as always. He'd have to change that.</p>
<p>"Okay. First thing: finish polishing my boots."</p>
<p>"Okay, Hyde, how's that gonna help-"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Okay."</p>
<p>She grabbed the boot and the cloth obediently and began scrubbing. Jackie Burkhart cleaning his shoes that she bought for him. There was a situation he never thought he'd be in. "You're gonna make a fine student." He got up from his seat and went to grab a record from his room. He pointed at her as she walked away. "Shine, grasshopper, shine!"</p>
<p>He spent about a minute in his room, searching for the perfect zen record. Finally settling on Pink Floyd, he walked out of his room to the sight of Jackie bent over his boots, polishing away like her life depended on it. He laughed silently before feeling a smidgen of pity at her cluelessness.</p>
<p>Walking silently over to the record player, he switched out records and waited for the music to fill the air, then reached over Jackie and pulled the boot out her hand. "Alright, enough of that now."</p>
<p>"You know, Hyde, I'm really glad you chose that pair of boots. They suit you so well and make you look cool, and, you know, instead of just being this weird, mysterious stoner guy, you're a fashionable weird mysterious stoner guy."</p>
<p>Hyde stopped himself from rolling his eyes and sat back in his chair, stuffing the boots back on his foot. "Yeah, whatever. Now listen, Jackie, if you wanna get this right, you're gonna need to tone down your crazy."</p>
<p>She blinked. "Excuse me?"</p>
<p>"I mean, Jackie, it's been fun watching you burn Laurie and all, but every time she hits you back, you get all emotional, and your feelings make you look like an idiot."</p>
<p>"But I hate her, Hyde, and Michael cheated on me. How am I supposed to not get emotional?"</p>
<p>"No no no, Jackie," He leaned forward, "the trick isn't to not feel anything, it's to hide your feelings."</p>
<p>"Oh, I can do that!" she grinned brightly.</p>
<p>Hyde scoffed. "Really? Jackie, that dress makes you look fat and Laurie's hair makes yours look as flat as Donna's." It was so blatantly untrue Hyde didn't feel even the slightest bit of guilt saying it. He was sure it was impossible for Jackie to look fat in anything, and while he didn't know much about hair, he knew hers was the kind of hair people wished they had. Jackie pretty much looked perfect all the time- which was a completely objective observation.</p>
<p>Jackie's jaw unhinged. "Steven Hyde, you take that back right now. How could you even say that? You're such a- you're such a-"</p>
<p>"My point exactly. I didn't mean all that crap, I just said it to get under your skin, and what do ya know, I did."</p>
<p>Jackie took a deep breath and calmed down, fanning herself. "Oh. Of course you didn't mean that. I mean, look at me, this dress was practically made for me."</p>
<p>"Uh-huh."</p>
<p>"Okay, I'm sorry, Hyde, let's try again. C'mon hit me."</p>
<p>She gestured for him to start again, so sighing, he said, "Alright, Jackie, when Michael cheated on you the first time with Pam Macy, we all congratulated him cause she was hotter than you."</p>
<p>Her eyes went wide again, and when she opened her mouth, Hyde thought she would scream, but no sound came out. Her face kept getting redder and redder, he wondered if she was breathing. She was so clearly fighting hard not to say anything. God, she looked ridiculous.</p>
<p>He couldn't help it anymore, he burst out in a fit of laughter at her state. She looked like a fish out of water. He wished he had a camera so he could show her how she looked. Laughing and laughing, he felt her fists pound against his back. "Screw you, Hyde, it's not funny!" He laughed harder. Then he looked up and she looked so offended, his belly started to hurt from the laughter.</p>
<p>She twisted away from him and crossed her arms again, clearly furious with him. Trying hard to console himself, he took large deep breaths until he could breathe properly again.</p>
<p>"I'm leaving," Jackie announced when they were sitting in dead silence.</p>
<p>"Quittin' already?" He ignored the disappointment he felt as she stomped determinedly towards the door.</p>
<p>"Well, what else am I supposed to do?!" she exclaimed. "You're not teaching me, you're just sitting there insulting me and laughing at me."</p>
<p>Because she was so terrible at being zen, Hyde noticed the real hurt in her voice instantly. His own voice softened, the way it always did when he needed to get through to her. "Okay, look, sit down and I'll teach you what to say."</p>
<p>Still upset but choosing not to leave, Jackie marched passed him and sat on top of the deep freeze. "What?"</p>
<p>Patiently, he faced her and explained, "I'm gonna teach you a magic word right now. Works in almost every situation. You master this and you're already like halfway there." He paused so she could say something but she was clearly still upset, because she nodded her head once, slightly, the only indication that she was listening. Ignoring her dramatics, he continued, "Whatever."</p>
<p>"What?" she asked puzzled.</p>
<p>"Whatever," he confirmed. "Whenever Laurie says something that pisses you off, just keep your face straight, pretend you don't care, and say, whatever."</p>
<p>"That's ridiculous."</p>
<p>"It's not. Go on, try it."</p>
<p>"Whatever," she said flatly.</p>
<p>"Wrong. Try again."</p>
<p>"Whatever!"</p>
<p>He made a buzzer sound. "Again."</p>
<p>"This makes no sense! How can I say a word wrong?"</p>
<p>"I dunno, but you're doing it."</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes. "Whatever."</p>
<p>"Don't roll your eyes, it lets people know you're annoyed. Now, c'mon, again."</p>
<p>"Whatever!"</p>
<p>"No. More aloofness."</p>
<p>"Whatever."</p>
<p>"I'm not believing you."</p>
<p>She frustratedly pulled her hair behind her ear. "Hyde, when are we going to move on? I have been saying whatever for like half an hour."</p>
<p>She jumped back off the deep freeze and circled around him. "You can say very much by saying very little, grasshopper." Deciding to try a new approach, he said, "Pretend you're Laurie and insult me."</p>
<p>This time he slid onto the deep freeze, awaiting Jackie's insults. "Okay," she said, more comfortable with this arrangement. "Hey, Hyde, you're stupid!"</p>
<p>Hyde wanted to shake his head and tell her that her insult was stupid, but he kept his face impassive and said, "Whatever."</p>
<p>Jackie looked extremely impressed. "Wow, that was great!"</p>
<p>"Yeah! Now another part of this is ambiguity. Say it with me-" And together they sounded out, "Am-bi-guity."</p>
<p>"Very good. See, you don't want people to know exactly what you mean. Here, ask me if I wanna go to a movie with you."</p>
<p>"Okay. Hyde, would you like to go to a movie tonight?"</p>
<p>"That's cool." Jackie fidgeted, unsure of what to do with herself. "See, you don't know if I mean 'that's cool I'll go' or 'that's cool, no thanks.'"</p>
<p>"And that's cool?"</p>
<p>"Whatever."</p>
<p>"Oh my God!" Jackie jumped up and down. "I am so sorry I got impatient!"</p>
<p>She looked so excited. Hyde felt like smiling. He didn't. "That's cool."</p>
<p>Jackie clapped her hands, looked like she was about to say something else. At that exact moment, Donna walked in, and for all the reasons in the world, Hyde couldn't figure out why he felt a stinging annoyance when she did. Not that either of them would be able to tell.</p>
<p>"Hey, guys. So, Jackie, since Eric won't invite me to dinner tonight, do you wanna go to the mall or something?" Great, now Hyde would end up bored and alone for the rest of the day.</p>
<p>"That's cool." He looked up. Maybe she wasn't as predictable as he'd thought.</p>
<p>Donna nodded for a second, but then leaned forward. "Wait, what do you mean?"</p>
<p>Jackie squealed and whirled around in excitement. "Oh my god it worked! I mean...whatever." She turned her head to look at him for confirmation, sporting the most genuine grin he'd ever seen. Then she winked at him, and screw it, that smile was contagious. A small one spreading across his face, he nodded his approval.</p>
<p>"What the hell is going on?" Donna demanded, confusion written across her face.</p>
<p>"Hyde's teaching me how to control my emotions and be zen." When she said the word zen, she mimicked the small hand movement he'd done earlier when he was explaining what it was.</p>
<p>Donna shook her head, taking a step backward. "You know what? I'm not gonna ask. I don't wanna know."</p>
<p>She backed out of the basement, and Hyde felt a small rush of relief when the door closed. He decided it was because Donna just wouldn't understand. Unlike Jackie, who ate up everything he was saying, Donna would think the idea of being zen was a waste of time, that Hyde should learn to use his emotions instead of repress them. And what a load of crap that was.</p>
<p>"Okay, Hyde, so what's next?" Jackie asked, sliding next to him on the deep freeze.</p>
<p>Suddenly deterred by her close proximity, he hopped off. "All right," he looked around the room, as if he was waiting for an idea to pop out of the corner. "All right, okay, I got it. Next, we gotta work on your posture."</p>
<p>She shook her head instantly. "I don't need to do that, I have perfect posture."</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's my point. It's too perfect. You gotta let loose a little. Nothing says I-care-about-what-the-world-thinks-of-me more than perfect posture."</p>
<p>Jackie slouched. "Ew, no, I'm sorry, slumped shoulders are just not a good look for me. Or anyone. Seriously, when Donna gets old, she's gonna regret not listening to me."</p>
<p>"Nah, man, it's not only about slumped shoulders. You just gotta look relaxed. Like me all the time. Watch." He flung himself onto his chair, and with a sigh, folded his arms behind his head and stretched his legs onto the coffee table.</p>
<p>Right behind him, Jackie flopped onto the couch, propped her legs onto the table and put her hands behind her head. She looked ridiculous, again, but he didn't want to laugh her out, again, so instead he smiled and corrected, "Okay, maybe not exactly like me."</p>
<p>Jackie smiled back. "I told you bad posture doesn't work for me."</p>
<p>He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Look, it's not all about the posture. You just have to let your body relax and not look like you're trying to keep your back straight. Just own the zen, man. Don't fight it."</p>
<p>Still smiling, Jackie nodded slowly. "So like getting a massage."</p>
<p>"Sure."</p>
<p>"Why didn't you just say so?" She put her feet back on the table and let her body drop slightly. "There."</p>
<p>"Good job, young grasshopper."</p>
<p>"So, Steven, how long have you been zen for?"</p>
<p>Ignoring her use of his first name, he shrugged. "I was just born cool, man."</p>
<p>"You must be really good at hiding your feelings, huh?"</p>
<p>"I don't get feelings, Jackie."</p>
<p>"Sure you do."</p>
<p>"I'm feeling annoyed right now."</p>
<p>"You don't have to pretend, Steven. I know you're a big softy deep down. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."</p>
<p>"Jackie, part of being zen is that you don't waste air by talking a bunch of crap all day long."</p>
<p>"Don't you get tired of keeping them all locked in all the time? Maybe one day I can teach you how to let them out."</p>
<p>"I would rather spend the day with Kelso and Laurie."</p>
<p>Jackie's jaw ticked a little, but then she brushed it off. "Whatever."</p>
<p>Hyde smiled. He smiled before he even realized he was smiling, and Hyde didn't do things without realizing it. Frickin' Jackie.</p>
<p>She noticed and pointed at him with a triumphant, "Ha! You like me!"</p>
<p>Hanging his head low, Hyde groaned, "God, man, not this again. Jackie, how many times do I have to tell you- I tolerate you."</p>
<p>"You know what, Steven, maybe you've been zen for so long you don't even know what feelings you're suppressing anymore."</p>
<p>"All right, one more peep outta you and we're done here."</p>
<p>"Fine." She picked up a magazine and skimmed through it, but Hyde could see the small grin etched on her face.</p>
<p>He sighed inwardly. He needed a- there was an idea.</p>
<p>"Jackie," he said curiously, dropping his feet to the ground. "You ever been in a circle?"</p>
<p>**************************************************</p>
<p>He was laughing before he was even high. After running up to make sure there was no chance of either Mr. or Mrs. Forman coming down, he and Jackie sat around the table and he watched her hesitantly put the blunt to her mouth.</p>
<p>"No no no, here relax your fingers and your wrist a little bit. Here, lemme show you."</p>
<p>Picking the blunt up from her fingers, he lifted to his mouth and took a small hit, feeling the familiar burn as he inhaled a little. He passed it back to her. Carefully, she held it, still not quite relaxing, and took a pull. Naturally, she coughed and stuck it back in his hand.</p>
<p>"'s'okay," He assured her. "First one's always the hardest, you'll get the hang of it. Now, you wanna inhale a little bit- that's how you get to the fun part." Jackie gave him a wary smile and tried again, coughed again. He gave her an encouraging half-smile. "You'll get there."</p>
<p>He demonstrated, taking a long drag; the second it was out of his mouth, Jackie plucked it from his fingers and tried again. Coughed again. Hyde laughed. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the basement door. They jumped and Jackie looked at him, frightened.</p>
<p>"It's cool, it's just Forman. Relax." He got up and went to unlock the basement door, swinging it open to reveal Forman and Fez.</p>
<p>"Starting without us, you bastard," Fez scolded.</p>
<p>"You're just in time. We're just gettin' started."</p>
<p>A half hour later, the four of them were properly high and talking about God-knows-what.</p>
<p>"Boy, I'm glad I'm not Kelso. Sure he's had sex a lot and I am still a virgin, but- oh, I wish I was Kelso."</p>
<p>"No, you don't Fez. Being Kelso is like knowing the truth behind all the deceptions in society, but not being able to convince any of your fellow suburban clones that anything's wrong, man." He paused. "Oh wait that's me."</p>
<p>Jackie, apparently, found this hilarious. She cackled and roared and shook back and forth and then stopped abruptly, half an oreo in each hand. "Man. I just totally forgot while I was laughing. Isn't that funny?"</p>
<p>The three guys exchanged funny looks and laughed at the sight of her so completely baked. "Okay, uh, no more for the cheerleader," Eric decided.</p>
<p>Fez grinned. "Jackie, you seem different. I don't know if it's your hair, your outfit...or your red puffy eyes."</p>
<p>Hyde looked at her proudly. "She's zen, man. I'm takin' her under my wing. I'm running a dojo of coolness. Jackie, demonstrate."</p>
<p>Instead of sounding out her new perfected 'whatever,' she said confidently, with a mouth full of oreos, "Ooglie, mooglie. Googlie!"</p>
<p>Embarrassed, Hyde defended, "It's her first day," and the three erupted into another fit of laughter when Jackie announced she felt like she was shrinking.</p>
<p>"Man, Hyde," Forman said once they calmed down. "You've officially corrupted every single one of us."</p>
<p>He shrugged modestly. "What can I say, man. It's my duty here on this earth."</p>
<p>"Earth," Forman repeated. "Man, the earth is huge."</p>
<p>******************************************</p>
<p>After one of the best circles they'd had in a while, Hyde and Forman sat on opposite ends of the couch. It felt much later than it actually was. Jackie was slumped between them, fast asleep.</p>
<p>"What should we do?" Forman asked. "Unibrow or mustache?"</p>
<p>"I like the way your mind works," commended Hyde. "Mustache. Definitely mustache."</p>
<p>Forman smiled and nodded evilly. Then his smile dropped. "Er, who's gonna get up to get the marker?"</p>
<p>"Well I ain't doin' it," Hyde asserted.</p>
<p>Sighing, Forman sank deeper into his seat. "Drawing on Jackie's face can wait for another day."</p>
<p>"You know what, man, lend me the keys to Vista Cruiser. I should probably get her home, and I think if we let her walk she might take a long turn and we'll never see her again."</p>
<p>"So...why don't we let her walk?" he joked, but he reached into his pocket and handed Hyde the keys.</p>
<p>"Jackie!" Hyde yelled unceremoniously. "Get up!" She didn't budge.</p>
<p>Forman leaned forward and yelled, "Jackie, your closet's on fire!"</p>
<p>She shot up. "What?!" she screamed, looking around slightly terrified, slightly confused.</p>
<p>Hyde and Forman grinned. "C'mon," Hyde prompted. "I'm takin' ya home."</p>
<p>Blinking sleepiness out of her eyes, Jackie only nodded and looked around and gathered her thing. Hyde liked sleepy Jackie. She was much quieter.</p>
<p>She mumbled a soft goodbye to Eric and followed him out the basement. The drive to Jackie's wasn't that far, but it felt long getting there in almost complete silence. Jackie, still half-asleep, spent the drive leaning against the car window fighting to stay awake.</p>
<p>"Thank you for today, Steven," she said finally, when they were nearing her house.</p>
<p>"Whatever." He pulled up in front of her gate.</p>
<p>Jackie smiled softly. "See you tomorrow."</p>
<p>"See ya."</p>
<p>*************************************************</p>
<p>It wasn't until mid-afternoon the next day that Jackie showed up to the basement. Not that he cared, but it was weird considering every weekend she was usually there before he considered it socially acceptable. She greeted everyone with a small, "hey" as she set down her things next to the record player.</p>
<p>"Jackie, where have you been all day?" Donna asked.</p>
<p>She twirled around, looking excited, and declared, "I have been at the mall all morning." She walked straight past Donna and up to him, her hands on her hips. "Check it out, Hyde."</p>
<p>She spun around. Hyde wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to be checking out, unless it was the way her pants hugged her waist, but that couldn't be it. "Uh, what exactly am I looking at?"</p>
<p>"My boots! Look!" She kicked out her leg to show off her presumably brand new pair of boots that looked, well, exactly like his, except with a small heel attached. "Aren't they cute? Now I can perfect my zen look!" He felt oddly touched, even though she was the one who chose the damn boots in the first place.</p>
<p>"Yeah, except there's a frickin' rainbow on your shirt."</p>
<p>"Well, Hyde, you can't expect me to wear a t-shirt. T-shirts are for boys and insecure girls who can't pull off looking fantastic in real outfits."</p>
<p>He was spared from answering by Donna interjecting, "So Jackie, I heard you got initiated into the circle last night. I can't believe you dillholes didn't invite me!"</p>
<p>"Oh my God, Donna, it was so great. I'm totally zen now!"</p>
<p>"Uh-huh."</p>
<p>"No, I am! Tell her, Hyde. Actually, watch."</p>
<p>She skipped over to Hyde's chair, picked up a magazine, slammed her feet on the coffee table, and started turning the pages. "Pretty cool, huh?" she gushed. "My body's all relaxed and zen-like."</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's...great, Jackie."</p>
<p>Jackie grinned and went back to flipping through her magazine. "Hey, Donna," Fez said, "Want to see the new record I got."</p>
<p>"Anything to get me away from this conversation."</p>
<p>As the two walked towards the back of the room, a clip-clopping sound was coming from the stairs, and seeing as Jackie and Laurie were the only ones who wore heels, and Jackie was already in the room, Hyde didn't have to look up to know who it was.</p>
<p>"Oh, you again," Laurie tantalized, sneering at Jackie. "What happened, did they let out kindergarten early today?"</p>
<p>Hyde studied Jackie, who barely shook her head and said perfectly, "Whatever."</p>
<p>"Jackie, don't you have a lame comeback saved for just this very occasion?"</p>
<p>Jackie didn't even look up. "That's cool."</p>
<p>Hyde smiled at his handiwork. He was impressed. "Oh, so now you're Little Miss Cool, huh?" God, he wished she would shut it. It was like as soon as he got rid of one annoying hothead another one came and took her place.</p>
<p>"Whatever," Jackie said.</p>
<p>"Well. If you're really as cool as you think you are, you would have been able to hold on to your one true love. But you couldn't, could you? Loser. Oh well."</p>
<p>And that was it for Jackie's zen. Slamming down her magazine, she growled as she jumped from her seat, hopped over the couch and launched herself at Laurie. It happened so fast Hyde could hardly believe it was happening.</p>
<p>"CAT FIGHT!" Fez yelled.</p>
<p>Hyde scrambled up from the couch and stood beside Donna and Fez, front row seats to Jackie v. Laurie. And Jackie was kicking her ass. She pulled her hair, untied her shirt, jabbed her near the eye, clawed at her necklace, punched and kicked, and this was so much better than being zen. Jackie, tiny, harmless-looking Jackie, sent Laurie running for her life back up the basement stairs.</p>
<p>"You kicked her ass, man," Hyde said in awe. It was one of the hottest things he'd ever seen.</p>
<p>"Yeah," she breathed. "Uh, yeah. Whatever."</p>
<p>She gripped onto Donna, who hugged her tightly.</p>
<p>"Oh my gosh," Fez sang. "I am so turned on.</p>
<p>"Hey, guys, what's goin' on?" They all looked up as Forman walked in through the door, looking at them weirdly standing so clustered together.</p>
<p>"Jackie just beat the crap out of your sister," Fez informed him.</p>
<p>"You what?"</p>
<p>Jackie pushed hair out of her face. "Well- yeah."</p>
<p>"Oh my God, that's great!"</p>
<p>"You should've seen it, man," Hyde nodded. "She got her in the eye!"</p>
<p>"Man," Forman pouted. "Why do I always miss out on the good stuff?"</p>
<p>"Plus she bit Donna."</p>
<p>"Wait, she what?"</p>
<p>"Don't worry, pretty sure Jackie bit her back."</p>
<p>"Ugh she bit you," Jackie said in disgust. "Come on, Donna, lemme bandage that up or something."</p>
<p>She led Donna to the couch and started taping a clear bandage on her arm. "I can't believe Laurie bit me," Donna said, still in shock. "Hope she didn't give me slut rabies."</p>
<p>"Jackie," Forman tapped her shoulder. "You're my hero. You hit her in the eye!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, but I guess it wasn't very zen of me, was it, Hyde?"</p>
<p>Hyde couldn't pretend to be disappointed in her even if he tried. "Where zen ends, ass-kicking begins. And that's your final lesson grasshopper."</p>
<p>"Hey, man," Jackie answered in her zen voice. "Let's do that thing. Where we all sit in the circle."</p>
<p>She didn't have to tell them twice.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Don't You Want Me, Baby?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Disclaimer: I don't own That 70s Show.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jackie Burkhart woke up in love. She could tell from the way she glowed. Her skin was extra smooth and shiny, her lips perfectly pink and pouty; her hair curled faultlessly, and her eyes shone brilliantly. All the telltale signs that Jackie's heart was soaring. She hopped out of bed on Monday morning with a spring in her step, smiling at herself in the mirror as she got all dolled up. Just the right amount of makeup- never pile it on unless you wanted to look like Sabrina Myers, who looked like a clown on her best days. The perfect accessories to go with the perfect outfit- a jumpsuit with soft colours and simple belt and buttons. Something mature and not too fancy. Something that Steven would like.</p>
<p>Steven Hyde. The object of her affection. He'd been so great to her the past couple days. Jackie had had her suspicions when he had let her drag him to the mall, but after last week, she was sure he had a soft spot for her. He'd practically admitted as much during their zen lessons. Just thinking about it made Jackie's heart pound against her chest. She remembered all the times he'd softened his voice and held her close and assured her she was too good for Michael.</p>
<p>She ignored the small piercing feeling she got when she thought of Michael. Michael was in her past. Steven could be her future; all she had to do was get him to realize that she was what he'd been missing his whole life. She could do that. No one could resist her for too long.</p>
<p>At school, unfortunately, Steven was so secretive and rebellious Jackie didn't see him once. She knew he often snuck out of class, sometimes ditched completely, and kept to dark corners. He rarely ate in the cafeteria, and today was no exception. She'd even gone up to Eric and demanded he tell her where he was, but Eric, as usual, brushed her off and told her to go chase after her posse of cheerleaders. Jerk.</p>
<p>But no matter, Jackie would see him after school at the basement, as she did every day. That would give her time to come up with some sort of plan. Luckily, she didn't have to. One fell right out of the sky into her lap (more like sat right in front of her and started yapping, but who cares). One of the photography geeks was sitting inches away from her, talking to some other loser about how they'd just finished printing off last year's yearbook for distribution on Friday.</p>
<p>Jackie's ears instantly perked up. There was an idea.</p>
<p>**************************************************</p>
<p>Jackie was elated. What better way to get Steven to realize he was into her than by having him stare at cute pictures of her? And if nothing else, her performance after school just reinforced her belief that no one could resist her. Sure it took longer than she'd expected and by the time she got the yearbook geeks to give in, the rest of the gang were long gone, back to the basement without her. She'd have to walk, but it would be worth it.</p>
<p>She got there in record time. Exploding through the door, she had no time for greetings as she announced, "Okay. You guys, I just got an advanced copy of the yearbook. And you'll all be happy to know that 1977 is my cutest year ever!" She smiled her best smile as she held out the yearbook for display.</p>
<p>"Jackie that is so weird," Eric said, "because I was just telling the gang how there's no way you could be cuter than last year."</p>
<p>Hope rattled its way through her body. Did that mean Steven was talking about her? "You were?!"</p>
<p>Eric gave her a blank look. "Yes," he said sarcastically. Screw Eric.</p>
<p>Michael cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter, saying, "I, for one, totally believe that you are cuter this year." And screw Michael.</p>
<p>"Yeah, since I dumped you."</p>
<p>She was grateful for Donna laughing and shouting, "Nice burn!"</p>
<p>"Donna," Michael lectured, clearly offended. "We've talked about that."</p>
<p>Jackie didn't have time to waste on Michael. Not anymore. Trotting past everyone else to sit next to Hyde, she tapped his knee. "Hey, Steven, wanna pop some popcorn and look at all the yearbook pictures of me?"</p>
<p>She flipped open the book, rapidly turning to the pages she'd marked as having pictures of her. "Nah, I figure I'll do plenty of that when I die and go to hell."</p>
<p>Jackie giggled and playfully slapped his shoulder. "God, you're such a card!"</p>
<p>"This is so exciting," Fez interrupted their moment. "My first American yearbook. Show us some pictures of Fez."</p>
<p>"Sorry, Fez, there aren't any." God, couldn't he see he was ruining her moment?</p>
<p>"What the hell." Jackie handed the yearbook to Steven, ignoring Fez, and pointed to a picture she was in. She had to stop herself from squealing when he took the book from her hands and settled into his chair, studying the pictures. "So they don't let foreigners in your yearbook?"</p>
<p>"Uh-huh," Jackie said absentmindedly, staying focused on Steven. "Here's me cheering at the pep rally last fall."</p>
<p>"Oh my God someone in the crowd is mooning!" Instantly, the rest of the gang ran to peer at the yearbook over Steven's shoulder, shoving her out the way. "You're all cheering away and the whole time you're gettin' mooned!"</p>
<p>"Oh my God, that's a girl butt!" Eric giggled. "There's girl butt in the yearbook. Oh man, I can't tell who it is, I wish we had a magnifying glass."</p>
<p>"Oh, here you go," Michael supplied a magnifying glass from out his back pocket. Everyone momentarily paused to stare at him. "I-I was just playing with some bugs."</p>
<p>How had she ever found him desirable?</p>
<p>"God, I can't believe it." Jackie's whole plan got ruined by some classless whore. "Someone's nasty butt is in my picture."</p>
<p>"Oh my God," Eric said again. "That's not girl-butt. That's Donna's butt!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, it is!" Donna exclaimed proudly.</p>
<p>Then Fez, Michael, and Steven- her Steven- all leaned over to glance at Donna's butt. Jealousy rose up in Jackie against her will. Jackie hardly ever felt jealous. She never really needed to; she knew she was as good as they come. She could be territorial and possessive, of course, but that didn't mean she was jealous. But it was different with Donna. Fez, Michael, Eric, Steven, they all liked Donna- loved Donna- without even second guessing it.</p>
<p>Over a year of hanging out with them and cementing herself as part of the gang and she still felt like an intruder sometimes. Now, even when she looked her cutest, they still preferred to pore over Donna's butt.</p>
<p>Her only consolation was that Eric looked like he felt even worse than she did. "Eric, are you okay?" Donna asked. "Cause you look weird."</p>
<p>"Yeah, could it be cause of your girlfriend's naked butt?" Michael piped up.</p>
<p>"Kelso, you're not helping."</p>
<p>"I'm not trying to help!"</p>
<p>"Eric, it's not big deal." Donna crossed the room to sit next to her boyfriend.</p>
<p>Jackie scoffed. "It is too, Donna, your nasty butt ruined my picture."</p>
<p>"Hey, maybe your nasty face ruined my butt picture."</p>
<p>Jackie's face went slack in shock. She did not have a nasty face! Did they think she had a nasty face? They couldn't think she had a nasty face.</p>
<p>"I know why I'm not in the yearbook," suggested Fez, clearly still upset. "It's because whitey's keeping me down."</p>
<p>Jackie tuned out whatever the morons said after that. This had not gone the way she planned. She was supposed to sit with Steven and fill his mind with happy things while he stared at pictures of her so that whenever he thought of her, he would feel happy. Now all he would think about was Donna's pasty butt. She should've thought of a plan B. But Plan A was so foolproof! But not Donna-proof, apparently.</p>
<p>That was it! Maybe if she told Donna about her revelation that Steven Hyde was actually just what she needed in her life, then she would stop getting in her way. If only she'd quit fighting with Eric. Oh, who was she kidding, if she waited for them to stop fighting she'd never stop waiting.</p>
<p>"Donna, can I talk to you?" she practically ordered, standing up and smoothing out her outfit.</p>
<p>"Jackie, I'm-you know what, yeah, you can."</p>
<p>Leaving Eric in the middle of their conversation, Donna followed Jackie out the basement and onto the porch steps, where they'd had many long talks before.</p>
<p>"I have a secret to tell you," Jackie confided once they were comfortable.</p>
<p>"Okay..."</p>
<p>"Well, I was doing some thinking, and I realized something." Donna nodded along. "Michael is such a boy! He doesn't even know who he is. But you know who knows who he is? Steven Hyde."</p>
<p>Donna's face transformed from mildly interested to extremely horrified. "Oh no, now you like Hyde?"</p>
<p>"No I don't like him," Jackie fibbed. "I just think he's the sweetest, coolest guy I've ever met." That part wasn't a lie. Steven was by far the coolest, smoothest person they all knew. But he was also so sweet to her when he wanted to be. If only Donna could see that.</p>
<p>Donna fumbled around for words. "Jackie, I thought you hated him."</p>
<p>That part was also true, way back when. But, "Feelings change, Donna. Like, remember when we first met and I hated you?"</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I thought you were like this big goon!" Donna clearly hadn't known that. Whoops. Jackie giggled a little. "Didn't we have this talk?"</p>
<p>"No!"</p>
<p>Jackie laughed some more and covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry," she said between giggles.</p>
<p>Donna laughed too. "It's okay. I mean, I hated you too."</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's because you're a big goon."</p>
<p>"Bitch!"</p>
<p>"Goon!"</p>
<p>"Bitch!"</p>
<p>"Goon!" Jackie leaned forward. "See? We're closer than ever." Great, now that she was sure Donna was in her good books and she knew about Jackie's new feelings for Steven (or some of them anyway), Jackie told her, "I gotta go find Steven!" and rushed away.</p>
<p>*********************************************</p>
<p>"What's she doin' here?" Hyde pointed at Jackie, regret plummeting through his body. He should've seen this coming. Every single time. He gave her an inch- no, less than an inch-and she felt like she owned him.</p>
<p>"I don't know, man, I think she's hittin' on me," Leo responded. "But I ain't interested. Tell her I ain't interested and make her go away." Jesus, if Jackie managed to annoy Leo, the most laid back guy on the planet, she had a serious talent. He decided then and there he didn't even want to know what she'd been going on about, or why she was there.</p>
<p>"Hitting on you? I am not hitting on you, you relic." Man, the crap that came out of her mouth sometimes. He wished she wasn't funny so he wouldn't have such a hard time keeping a straight face.</p>
<p>"Hey, name calling's no way to win someone's heart."</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>This crap could go on forever, and Hyde was no longer entertained.</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>He was already out the door. He had to get away from there as soon as possible, for his own sanity. He walked as fast as he could, not even knowing where the hell he was going. He'd just left the basement a while ago, had nothing to do at the Hub, none of his stash on him, and work right now was not an option. His only goal was away from whatever the hell was going on with Jackie today.</p>
<p>"Steven, wait!" Steven stopped himself from groaning. Jackie was cool sometimes, but so extremely uncool the rest of the time, and Hyde had reached his quota for how much time he could with her for the month. "Steven!"</p>
<p>Her voice rose to that shrill, commanding sound that gave him a headache. "What do you want, Jackie?" he asked, not very friendly.</p>
<p>"Well, I was thinking maybe we could hang out."</p>
<p>"Why would I do that?"</p>
<p>"Well, because we had so much fun the last time."</p>
<p>"Ah, see, that's where you're wrong, Jackie. I don't have fun. Unless it's in circle time. Then I have a not-shitty time."</p>
<p>"But don't you remember the day we went to the mall? That was fun, wasn't it?"</p>
<p>"Spending time at the mall voluntarily is not something I would ever subject to for free. The mall is what I picture hell is like."</p>
<p>"Oh," Jackie's shoulders slumped slightly in momentary defeat. Then she piped up again. "Steven, let's go to the movies! Don't you like movies?"</p>
<p>"Jackie, seriously, what has gotten into you, and whatever it is, can you get it out of you?"</p>
<p>Jackie giggled. "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"I mean this is weird and I don't like it. We don't hang out, Jackie. Now...scram."</p>
<p>"I just thought...you know, since we've been hanging out lately we could hang out, you know, outside of the basement. I kinda thought we were friends now."</p>
<p>Hyde's fists curled in on themselves. He didn't understand why the hell her lame excuse for latching onto him like a leech made him want to give in, maybe even use that sickening voice he equipped whenever she was bawling her eyes out. He didn't understand it but he hated it and every time he gave into that feeling, Jackie only came on stronger. Refusing to relent this time, Hyde answered, "Well, we're not."</p>
<p>Jackie hesitated for a moment. "...not even during circle time?"</p>
<p>Hyde's scowl didn't budge, but he said, "Well, maybe during circle time, but that's mainly because you keep your trap shut most of the time."</p>
<p>"Okay, deal! We can go back to the basement and light one up!" It was like all Jackie did was smile and pout. Either way she got whatever the hell she wanted.</p>
<p>"I gotta work."</p>
<p>"You just left work. By the way, your boss is rude. And smelly. He called me loud."</p>
<p>"You are loud."</p>
<p>Jackie laughed a bubbly laugh that Steven hated. "You're so funny."</p>
<p>"Look, if I go with you back to the Formans' will you promise to shut up the rest of the way there? Do you have your car?"</p>
<p>"No I didn't drive today," Jackie said brightly. "But a walk will be nice! Come on!"</p>
<p>Grumbling but seeing no way out of it, Hyde walked regretfully alongside Jackie, who was swinging her arms and humming softly. It was a sort of long walk from the Fotohut back to Forman's. It felt even longer with Jackie next to him. He only hoped she'd stick to her word and not say anything.</p>
<p>Of course, Hyde should've known better than to hope. "So how come you wear those sunglasses all the time?"</p>
<p>"I told you to not talk."</p>
<p>"Come on, Steven, please. It's just that I find you very interesting." Hyde rolled his eyes. "Don't you find me interesting?"</p>
<p>At that, he scoffed. Jackie wasn't interesting. Jackie was the least interesting person he knew. He could see through Jackie with no effort at all. He knew all he needed to know. "No."</p>
<p>Jackie pouted. Good. That meant she wouldn't talk. She walked in silence next to him for the rest of the excruciatingly long walk. When they finally turned into the driveway, he couldn't get through the basement door fast enough, wanting to be rid of the awful awkwardness as soon as possible. She looked so genuinely upset that he didn't find her interesting.</p>
<p>But when he got inside only Donna was there, flipping mindlessly through a magazine. "Hey, I thought you were heading to work," she greeted.</p>
<p>"She followed me there," Hyde grumbled, finding his seat and pulling it closer to the coffee table.</p>
<p>"STEVEN! It's rude to just leave a lady alone like that!" Jackie's voice accompanied them through the door, huffing as she sat on the lawn chair.</p>
<p>Donna gave him a knowing grin. "Yikes." He gave her a dirty look back.</p>
<p>"Where's everyone else?" he growled.</p>
<p>"They went over to Kelso's to check out some new gadget one of his brothers got."</p>
<p>Still miserable, Hyde looked at his only two companions. "Well do you two wanna smoke a joint with me?"</p>
<p>Jackie and Donna exchanged excited looks. "Sure!" they both answered with different levels of enthusiasm.</p>
<p>Nodding, Hyde got up to get his stash. They weren't his first choice for companionship, but once he got high enough, he wouldn't care. Grabbing his bag from their spot at the back of the basement, Hyde was about to pull out an already-rolled joint when they heard footsteps approaching from the basement stairs.</p>
<p>Wide-eyed, they all tried their best to act natural, Hyde stuffing the bag under his shirt. "So that's how that works," Hyde said meaningfully to Donna.</p>
<p>"Right! Thanks for explaining that, Hyde?"</p>
<p>"Ugh, it's you." At Jackie's snarl Hyde turned around to find Laurie sneering down at them-particularly at Jackie.</p>
<p>As if he hadn't been annoyed with Jackie all day, Hyde's offense quickly shifted and he aimed at Laurie. "What the hell are you doing down here? Come for another ass-whooping?"</p>
<p>Laurie rolled her eyes. "I actually live here, you know, I'm not just slumming it cause my own parents don't want me."</p>
<p>The words flew straight over Hyde's head, but Jackie retorted, "Oh, shut it, you whore. You're just jealous because your parents choose to love a poor, untidy jerk like Steven, while the only reason you're here is because they got stuck with the burden of giving birth to you."</p>
<p>Hyde looked at her, slightly impressed.</p>
<p>"You mean kinda like Kelso chose to love a super-hot, fun-loving chick like me instead of an annoying, smothering, leech like you?"</p>
<p>"Hey, why don't you leave her alone and go find some 50 year old man to sleep with you for ten dollars?"</p>
<p>Holding a hand to her heart, Jackie purred, "Oh, Steven, you defended me. That is so sweet." And there she went again, making him regret it all.</p>
<p>"You know what, whatever," Laurie surrendered. "I only came down here to tell you to give me one of those joints I know you keep around here."</p>
<p>Hyde looked at her like she was insane. "No."</p>
<p>"Well, if you don't, I'll tell Red you keep 'em down here." She pouted and gave her best innocent voice. "And you know he always believes his baby girl."</p>
<p>"Whatever," Hyde rolled his eyes, pulling the bag out from under his shirt. He reached in and grabbed one, passing it to her roughly. He'd have to replenish soon anyway.</p>
<p>Laurie's eyebrows shot up. "So that's what you idiots were about to do when I came down here. Lucky it was me, aren't ya?"</p>
<p>"I never consider it lucky when you show up, Laurie."</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, light up, I want in."</p>
<p>"No. Just take it and go."</p>
<p>Staring at him threateningly again, Laurie raised her voice, "Daddy!"</p>
<p>"Alright, alright, fine. Just sit down."</p>
<p>"Steven! You can't let her join our circle! She's not allowed!"</p>
<p>"Shut it, Jackie."</p>
<p>Jackie folded her arms. Donna gave her a 'cool it' smile. Hyde ignored her.</p>
<p>Finally, after what felt like a million years, Hyde lit the end of the joint and took the first puff, coughing slightly at the familiar burn. His body relaxed around the joint in his fingers, and like always, whatever tension existed in the circle vanished as everyone started blazing.</p>
<p>"Man," Hyde said finally, deciding he needed to give Jackie a major hint. "I don't know what's gotten into Jackie. Steven, let's hang out. Steven, let's go to the mall. My life's a living hell, you know?"</p>
<p>Jackie, still sort of new to pot and high as hell, laughed uncontrollably. "Steven, you're hilarious! You know, Steven and I tease each other. That's what best friends do!"</p>
<p>Goddamn her. He hated to agree with Laurie but she really was like a leech. Refusing to get the message, she simply latched on and smothered him with her presence. She was much cooler when she was into the zen thing, pretending not to care.</p>
<p>"You know what?" Donna announced. "I love showing my butt! I don't care what Eric says. I like to show it, and I like to shake it!"</p>
<p>Laurie was laughing too, twirling her hair around her finger. "Donna, I can totally respect that. Just be careful, though, or they'll call you a homewrecker. I can count the number of homes I've wrecked on one hand."</p>
<p>"Don't worry ladies," Hyde assured them, "Cause no one's gonna label you here. If you guys wanna take off some clothes and show some stuff, feel free." Then his eyes strayed over to Jackie, who even high was watching him intensely. "But not you."</p>
<p>Jackie pouted and Hyde reached into his bag for another joint. He wasn't high enough yet.</p>
<p>****************************************</p>
<p>Everything was a complete bust. It was like the Steven of last week, who took her under his wing, who gazed at her proudly, no longer existed. Except he had to because Jackie had never craved attention so much, and that was saying something. But why, why, why didn't he care enough to give it? She knew he liked her, or he would've never invited her to the circle. So what the hell was it?</p>
<p>Staring at her ceiling Monday night Jackie tried to figure it out. But she couldn't. And she didn't, not until Friday, after the worst week of her life. She'd spent the whole week dressing to what she hoped was Steven's taste, trying different tactics, even experimented with a different perfume. But he seemed adamant not to agree to do anything with her.</p>
<p>So she went to the mall to try to sort out her problems, finding solace in the clothes she tried on, reminding herself of how pretty she was, and that someday, he would notice and agree to go out with her. And as she was leaving the mall, several bags in hand, Jackie saw it. A flyer advertising roller disco lessons in Kenosha. It was perfect. That was it!</p>
<p>Steven was his nicest to her when no one else was around. If she could get him all the way to Kenosha, to do something fun, just the two of them...he was bound to fall in love with her.</p>
<p>Jackie was glad she'd gotten her daddy's Lincoln today. After signing them up, she'd rushed home to drop off her new clothes, then sped to the Forman's, where she found Fez alone with a pile of candy. Then to the Fotohut where Leo sat singing softly to himself; when he saw her, still annoyed with her apparently, he covered his ears with both hands and sang loudly, "BLAH BLAH BLAH!" She'd tried to ask him where Steven was, but he refused to drop his childish act, so Jackie left again, getting a little frustrated now. Roller disco would start soon and she still had no idea where he could be. The thought crossed her mind that he could be with a girl that wasn't her, but the idea was so frightening she shook it off within seconds.</p>
<p>Finally, she checked the Hub, much less enthusiastic than she had been a half hour before. That is, until she spotted Steven, alone, through the door. A grin graciously wrote itself on her face, and Jackie pranced in, hope oozing out of her.</p>
<p>"Steven!" she squealed, running to sit across from him. "I am so glad you're here."</p>
<p>"Jackie, please, I'm right in the middle of Smokie and the Bandit, okay?" he rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"Okay," she said patiently. "Fine, but I signed us up for roller disco lessons tonight. Class starts in half an hour so we better hustle." He stared at her incredulously, and Jackie felt her confidence wavering. "You get it? Hustle?"</p>
<p>"Okay let me explain something to you. On Friday nights, I don't roller disco. I go out looking for roller discoers to punch in the head."</p>
<p>The roller disco was a long shot anyway. "Fine, we won't roller disco. We'll do anything you want!" She sat back. He couldn't say no to doing anything. Boys didn't have it in them to do that.</p>
<p>"No, we won't." Or maybe they did. "Look, man, you and I don't have anything in common. You're like a square, you know, a cheerleader. So just roller disco on out of here, okay?" He returned to his stupid Smoke and the Bandit comic strip without even flinching at how mean he'd been to her. Why was he so mean to her when he didn't even know her? Weren't they friends just last week? And why did he have to be so cute while he was so vicious? And since when did he even get cute?</p>
<p>"Fine. I guess I'm not cool enough to hang out with you anymore." Maybe last week was a fluke.</p>
<p>"Now you're getting it."</p>
<p>God, what was his problem? Standing up, hurt crawling into her voice, she argued, "You know what, Steven, you think you know me, but you don't. You don't know me at all."</p>
<p>He thought she was some regular cheerleader who couldn't cross lines. But Jackie Burkhart wasn't like any other cheerleader or person on the planet, and she crossed every line she could. She would show him. Soon, he would see that he was wrong about her. Soon.</p>
<p>********************************************</p>
<p>Jackie made it hard not to hate her. But she also made it hard to hate her, which meant Hyde was in a constant state of not knowing how the hell he felt about the cheerleader. Which only made him more annoyed.</p>
<p>He knew she was rebounding hard, probably didn't even know she was doing it. But he wished she'd chosen someone else. It had been fun at first, watching Kelso's reaction, but now that Jackie had glued herself to his side, it didn't seem nearly as worth it.</p>
<p>Roller disco? She had to be kidding. There was no way in hell Hyde would ever be caught at a roller disco. None. No matter how bad he felt for her or how much she pouted. He was done giving into her little performances anyway.</p>
<p>His mood killed, he left the Hub through the back alley. Maybe he'd find someone to smoke a joint with. Or make out with. Or both. He hadn't expected to find Jackie leaning against the back wall. How the hell did she even know he would leave through the back? The chick just would let go, and he was beginning to understand why Kelso had never been able to get rid of her for good.</p>
<p>"Oh no, is the roller disco craze over already?" he asked, being intentionally harsh. If she was drawn to his unfortunate periods of being nice to her, then doing the opposite should work to get her to leave. Eventually.</p>
<p>"Of course not." Hyde walked away, hoping against hope that she would go away. There was far too good a chance that if she didn't she might convince him to let her stick around. "Look, Hyde, I just wanted you to know that I'm not a square cheerleader. I'm on the wrong side of the law! Because I have this." She held up a brown paper bag, staring as intently as ever.</p>
<p>"Oh no, a paper bag, run," he mocked, but felt his stomach tighten a little. There was no way she could've gotten what he thought was in there.</p>
<p>Wordlessly, Jackie opened the paper bag and showed him the insides.</p>
<p>"Jackie." He ripped the bag away from her hands. What the hell was she doing with so much pot?</p>
<p>"Oh yeah," she nodded, folding her arms. "I bought it in the ghetto."</p>
<p>Man, this girl was an idiot. She had no idea what the hell she was doing. Hyde's level of infuriation was rising slowly, as it always did in her presence.</p>
<p>"Jackie, there is no ghetto here. I mean, there's that one house that needs to be painted."</p>
<p>"Okay, fine. I bought it from my housekeeper, whatever."</p>
<p>"So what are you saying, you want to be like a burnout now?"</p>
<p>"No. No, Hyde, I just want to be with you. Okay? I think you're one of the coolest, sweetest guys I've ever met."</p>
<p>Jesus Christ, she didn't even know him. "No, you don't!" he yelled, slamming the bag of weed onto the hood of a car.</p>
<p>"Yes, I do!"</p>
<p>"Is there a problem here?"</p>
<p>Instantly the blood drained from Hyde's face. He spun around, grabbing Jackie's shoulders and standing protectively behind her. "No, officer, there's no problem at all, right, Jackie?"</p>
<p>Please be cool, Hyde thought over and over, Please be cool. Jackie wasn't cool. "There's nothing in the bag!" she panicked.</p>
<p>Hyde saw it happen in slow motion, in some sort of trance. All his years of smoking and not once had he been caught. This had to be the worst luck ever. Now he was watching an officer pull away a panicking Jackie, arresting her for trying to impress him. Goddamn it he should've gone to the damn roller disco.</p>
<p>"No no, I can't get arrested, I have to cheer tomorrow!"</p>
<p>Hyde was thinking she couldn't get arrested for far more serious reasons, like the fact that she'd never survive a night behind bars. And that all she was trying to do was prove him wrong for some stupid thing he'd told her. Jackie had been a pothead for a little bit more than a week now, and had only ever smoked with him. Hyde could not let her go to jail.</p>
<p>This was a sick burn from the universe. As the officer pulled Jackie towards him, Hyde instinctively grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "What are you doing, man? The bag is mine." He ignored the regret already settling into his stomach as Jackie gazed at him adoringly. "C'mon. Cheerleader, dirtbag," he explained, gesturing between him and Jackie.</p>
<p>The guy didn't look like he fully believed him, but he shrugged and took Hyde anyway.</p>
<p>"Oh my God." And here it comes. "Steven Hyde, you were right. We will never be friends. We'll be more than friends." She was completely delusional. "Because now...I love you!"</p>
<p>Jackie Burkhart was a nuisance.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: I just have to say-I'm posting this chapter more for the fact that I have it and it's written than because I'm completely proud with it. When I started writing these, it was mainly for fun and I wanted to sort of re-write important scenes/missing moments in the show from Jackie and Hyde's perspectives. I also used these as sort of exercises to get back into the flow of writing cause I hadn't done it in a while. Especially fanfiction. The last piece of fanfiction I wrote before this was my freshman year of high school for Percy Jackson. So...yeah. But now, as I'm on my second round of watching the show, I'm starting to get all these ideas for stories to post with an actual made-up plot instead of this collection of one-shots that pretty much details stuff we already know happens. It gets kind of boring, you know? That being said, I do have ideas that I'm gonna start to work on and flesh out. I'm NOT abandoning this, BUT I think from now on it'll most likely be all missing moments between and within episodes than write-outs of the episodes form Jackie and Hyde's perspectives. If you get what I mean. That way I can still accomplish what I wanted to with this fic while still feeling like I'm being creative and not just writing dialogue that already exists.</p>
<p>I am still fairly proud of other chapters I've written that include both missing moments and the original scenes (like the prom episode and Cat Fight Club), don't get me wrong. I just think it'll be more entertaining for both the readers and writer to have the chapters be more original content. So that's just kind of an update as to where my head's at right now. Like I said, it's been a while since I've written fanfiction (*cough* 2013) so I'm really kind of just seeing where this takes me before I fully commit to a real story.</p>
<p>And that's all for now! If you read all that, thanks for listening to me rant for a hot minute. See you soon, with some better content on the way. (hopefully)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Leo Knows Best</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After going to jail for Jackie and then having to deal with her insist that they were in love, Hyde retreats to the Fotohut to do some work and get his mind off things. Except Leo seems fixated on talking about one thing: Jackie.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>A/N: I know I posted just like 2 days ago, but this is a short chapter and it's done so I'm posting it. Like I said in the last chapter, this is a missing moment that would take place any time after the first episode of season 3. I love that Leo's always so honest and spot on with Hyde and how he's feeling so I thought it would be cute to write something about it. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyde swung into the Fotohut more pissed than usual, grumbling a swift, "'Sup, Leo," as he moved to behind the counter.</p>
<p>"'Sup, man," Leo nodded back, not paying much attention to him. Instead Leo was fixated on two photos, eyes moving back and forth between them.</p>
<p>Hyde stood behind his boss to get an idea of what the hell was so interesting. One picture had an old man sitting behind a birthday cake with a young girl, probably a grandkid, with her arms slung around his neck and flashing a toothless grin. The second picture was more his style - a woman in her twenties most likely, in a skimpy red bathing suit, squinting into the sun on a beach somewhere. Her boobs were poking out and her skin looked all tan and oily. It was the sort of picture Hyde would sometimes 'accidentally' lose and take home with him.</p>
<p>"Uh, Leo, why exactly are you staring at these two photos?"</p>
<p>"Man, cause I dropped 'em earlier and now I can't remember which one is for Mr. Jones and which one is for Peaches." He went back to studying them, as if the names of the owners would write themselves on the photos if he looked hard enough.</p>
<p>Plucking them out of his hand, Hyde retorted, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this one's for Mr. Jones," he held up the one with the old dude, "and this one's for Peaches," he finished, holding up the picture of the hot girl.</p>
<p>"You sure, man?" Leo sounded dubious.</p>
<p>"Yeah, Leo, I'm sure."</p>
<p>"Well, all right." Leo shrugged and went to find their respective envelopes. "Whew," he sighed once he put the picture in their rightful places. "All this work's got me tired out, man. What do you say we take a break?"</p>
<p>Usually, Hyde tried to make sure at least one of them was sober enough to be able to talk to customers. But Leo already had out his lighter and was reaching into his film box for a joint; and Hyde had already had a long enough day trying to pry Jackie from off of him, who insisted they were in love. She was delusional and annoying and getting on Hyde's nerves with every passing second. Even the ones where she wasn't anywhere near him.</p>
<p>"I say hurry up and grab a chair."</p>
<p>Leo did as he was told, and soon enough the small hut was filled with smoke and the stench of burning pot, and Hyde felt his nerves unwind and his body went into its favourite relaxed state. He sighed into the familiarity, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feeling.</p>
<p>That is, until Leo piped up and said, "Man, you gotta be careful with this stuff these days. A buddy of mind just got busted the other day."</p>
<p>"Would that buddy of yours happen to have been busted for covering up for an annoying cheerleader?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, man, how'd you know?"</p>
<p>"That was me, ya moron!"</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, Hyde! You gotta be careful, man."</p>
<p>Hyde scoffed. "Yeah. Thanks." The whole thing still made him mad. Red had been so mad he kicked him out. Not that he ever actually made it out. Red had found out the truth before he could step foot out the door and let him stay. But still. The sinking feeling of being alone, having nowhere to go again, feeling so completely unimportant wasn't quick to leave him. He'd almost ruined everything. For Jackie. It was the burn of a lifetime. "Shoulda let 'em take her to jail," he muttered, more to himself than to Leo.</p>
<p>"Yeah, man. Hey, why didn't you?"</p>
<p>Hyde sighed again. He had no idea. He only knew he regretted it. "Man, I have no idea. She was just all determined to prove to me she wasn't a square-which she is-so she went and bought herself all this pot just to get her point across. And, man, Leo, you should've seen her when that officer came over. She got all scared and panicky. She never would've lasted a second behind bars. Not one. Guess it was just the nice thing to do."</p>
<p>"That doesn't make any sense."</p>
<p>Hyde stared at Leo, not sure which part of that didn't make sense. He was quickly becoming tired of this conversation. "The hell's that supposed to mean? What doesn't make sense?"</p>
<p>"I thought you weren't nice to anyone, man. Why would you be nice to her?"</p>
<p>Hyde ground his teeth together. This was not how he liked to feel while he was high. "Leo, how bout we implement a rule I have with Forman and those other guys?"</p>
<p>"What rule?"</p>
<p>"No chitchat about girls during circle time!"</p>
<p>"Hey, fine by me, man. You're the one goin' to jail for 'em."</p>
<p>Ignoring him, Hyde sat back and closed his eyes again. Not three seconds passed before Leo spoke up again. "Wait a minute. Loud Girl's your girl?"</p>
<p>"No! Man, Leo, gimme that. That's enough for today." Hyde snatched the joint from Leo's fingers and pinched it out, glaring at him through red eyes.</p>
<p>"But you said not to talk about girls during circle time!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, girls in general, cause I'm sick and tired of talking about Jackie, all right?"</p>
<p>"Jackie...Jackie...you mean Loud Girl?"</p>
<p>"Yes!" Hyde snapped.</p>
<p>"The one you went to jail for?"</p>
<p>"Yes!"</p>
<p>"And she's not your girl?"</p>
<p>God help him, Hyde had to punch something. He hated talking in circles, and that was the only way Leo knew how to talk. Fortunately for Leo, a car drove up outside the window in that moment and honked loudly. "I got it, man," Leo said as if he were picking up the phone. He walked over to the window and slid it open, asking, "Hello?" as if he were picking up the phone.</p>
<p>Hyde almost chuckled. If he wasn't so frustrated with Leo he'd probably be in hysterics right now. But no, instead he was thinking about Jackie during this sacred time, and how Leo was right. He wouldn't have gone to jail for just anybody. Hell, he would have thrown a good number of people under the bus. Cause he wasn't a nice person.</p>
<p>Only Jackie, it seemed, had the ability to make Hyde act completely out of character. Man, prom? What had he been thinking? And the mall? Not cause Hyde was nice, but cause she had bugged and pleaded until she literally annoyed it out of him.</p>
<p>Well no more. Jail was the final straw. Hyde vowed to himself then and there, in the middle of the smoky Fotohut, that he was done giving in to Jackie Burkhart. Anyone else in the world would give her what she wanted. But not him. Not anymore. He swore it.</p>
<p>"Sorry, man, there's no Phillip here," he heard Leo talking to the same customer.</p>
<p>"You sure?" the woman was saying. "That's really weird..."</p>
<p>Hyde knew he should probably go over and help Leo, but his feet didn't feel like moving, so he stayed glued to the chair, listening instead.</p>
<p>"Oh! Try Peaches, it's what my dad calls my daughter. It might be under her name."</p>
<p>"Peaches...ah, yeah, here we go!"</p>
<p>Hyde's eyes widened as he watched Leo hand over an envelope that held a very risque photo of a young blonde woman. His face split into a grin and all thoughts of Jackie whirled out of his head. Leo clearly hadn't caught on, and was heading back to his seat across from Hyde. It was all too much. Hyde bust out laughing, the weed finally working the way it was supposed to, and imagined the lady's faced as she realized her dad was developing photos of much younger women, and then saving it under his granddaughter's name. And whoever Mr. Jones was, he was a lucky man. It was hilarious.</p>
<p>Hyde laughed until his sides hurt, and Leo, who had no idea why Hyde was laughing, started laughing too. So they sat there, the two of them, in the middle of a work day, high as hell, laughing their asses off.</p>
<p>Hyde was just thinking he could stay here all day when Leo looked at him gravely and said, "I would go to jail for you, man."</p>
<p>Puzzled at his seriousness, Hyde stirred, and realized maybe Jackie wasn't the only person he would go to hail for. "Uh, yeah, Leo, I'd go to jail for you too."</p>
<p>Leo shook his head. "Nah, man. Cause then you'd have to leave Loud Girl."</p>
<p>Sighing, Hyde said, "Leo, Jackie and I aren't dating."</p>
<p>"You aren't?"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>"So why'd you go to jail for her?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N #2: Let me know if you guys liked this chapter! It's kind of different from what I've been posting so I'm a little unsure about it, but I enjoyed writing it! Also, I wanted to take some time to thank some of my regular commenters, cause I really really appreciate them.</p>
<p>First off, dinnerxx, who comments on just about every chapter, your comments ALWAYS make me smile and I know I've replied this to you before, but I really really appreciate you liking what I'm writing here enough to keep coming back. So thank you :)</p>
<p>And also isnotme - I adore your stories, so the fact that you're reading mine and commenting regularly makes me beyond happy. Like you don't even know. </p>
<p>And to all other guests and people who have commented, thank you. I know this story isn't huge, but I started writing this for fun and to satisfy the part of me that needed to get some Jackie/Hyde idea out of her system. &amp; that's all for now</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. That's Amoré</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>A/N: I know, I know, I'm on a roll. Except not really. I've had a first draft of this chapter written for ages now, so I really only had to edit and rewrite a couple scenes. Also, I realize this is sort of against my last note where I said I'd only write missing moments from now on, but this episode is too good and too important to not include in this write-up. More notes at the end about my thoughts but as always, I hope you love it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jackie was sure that way, deep, deep down, Steven liked her. Sure, everyone else thought she was crazy, but that was because they'd never really seen him be nice to her. Because sometimes, when it was just them, he was. He had even told her that she deserved better than Michael. Plus, she had an inkling of a suspicion that he kind of liked her going after him all the time.</p>
<p>Steven, on the other hand, just thought that Jackie should be grateful he was letting her sit in his chair. He wondered if today would be one of those days where he tolerated her or one of those days where she made him wish he could disappear.</p>
<p>"So, Steven," she whirled up from his chair and went to stand at his feet. She slapped her manicured hands on his knees and said, "Isn't Veteran's Day romantic?"</p>
<p>"Oh yeah," he answered. "Government pawns and missing limbs. That's amore."</p>
<p>"I know, I know." She placed a hand over her heart. "It's a day for people in love to have fun together!"</p>
<p>He listened as Kelso declared his intentions to go do something stupid and hoped it would be enough to distract her, but she only stepped closer and asked, "So, Steven. Would you like to go to Mr. Forman's barbecue with me?"</p>
<p>He decided to let her down easy. "No." She frowned, as if she actually expected him to say anything other than 'no.' "As a matter of fact, I don't want to go anywhere with you."</p>
<p>"You know what, that's okay!" She jumped next to him on the dryer, crossed her legs, and slid her arm over his shoulders. "We can stay in."</p>
<p>He wasn't sure if she was this dense, or if she was being a deliberate pain in the ass. "No, Jackie. Look, I've told you again and again. I have no interest in you, and you don't have a chance. And yet you keep thinking that I have interest in you, and you have a chance."</p>
<p>He jumped down and away from her and went to sit in his chair.</p>
<p>"Wait." She followed him down. "Did you just say that you're interested in me and I have a chance?" That one almost made Hyde laugh out loud in exasperation.</p>
<p>Then he saw the look Donna was giving them. She was silently laughing at him, of course, pretending to flip through her magazine as she watched them, clearly amused. See, that was exactly what he didn't want. He was one person with his friends - Steven Hyde, zen master. But the way Jackie got under his skin made him something else entirely and he didn't like that Donna knew it. Or anyone else for that matter. He felt like he was being judged or something. And Hyde didn't get judged, he did the judging.</p>
<p>Screw this. "Okay, you know what, you forced me to do this. I'm gonna explain my feelings to you through a highly disciplined form of Japanese poetry: haiku.<br/>My heart aches with pain.<br/>When I see you, I vomit.<br/>Die away from me."</p>
<p>"Ouch!" Donna interjected as Jackie's smile wiped off her face into an overwhelmingly sad expression.</p>
<p>Great. "Sayonara." He walked away from her and up the stairs. He didn't want to hurt her feelings but insulting her was the only way to get her to quit it. Damn Jackie.</p>
<p>******************************************</p>
<p>Jackie felt more than a little shaken by the awful words Hyde had said. "Donna. Never have 17 syllables hurt me so much. Why would he want to hurt me like that?"</p>
<p>"Because you're stalking him, Jackie!"</p>
<p>"No, really, Donna!" Steven couldn't really think she was annoying, could he? She had been sure he found her endearing.</p>
<p>"Jackie, really. You are to Hyde what Fez is to you."</p>
<p>"That's ridiculous, Fez and I will never happen." Then it hit Jackie like a brick. She felt like her heart suddenly got a hundred times too heavy and dropped to her feet. "Oh God. Steven and I will never happen."</p>
<p>"Jackie, it's all right. You've just gotta get over this. Be strong."</p>
<p>"You're right, Donna, you're right." Except she really, really wanted her to be wrong. "Oh, I wish my daddy could buy him for me," she cried, resting her head on Donna's shoulder.</p>
<p>Now Jackie had to re-evaluate everything. If Steven didn't like her at all, she'd wasted precious time running after him. And Donna was right, she had to move on, get over it. Except she kept thinking of the night he took her to prom. He got dressed up, he bought her a corsage without her asking, he called her beautiful. When she found out Michael was cheating with Laurie he'd patted her awkwardly in front of Donna and Eric, but as soon as they left he sat her down and hugged her and talked to her about all the reasons Michael wasn't worth it. He had to have a soft spot for her.</p>
<p>Jackie sighed frustratedly. She could only think of one way to find out.</p>
<p>*****************************************</p>
<p>Jackie was all bubbly as she led her data towards the Forman residence. "There's Donna. I'm like her best friend. She's the really tall redhead, kinda looks like a giant, but don't let her looks fool you, she's actually really cool. Fez is the brown foreign one, you can't miss him. If you can't understand what he's saying, it's probably safer that you just say on. Eric is Donna's boyfriend. He's super skinny and extremely boring so don't bother talking to him. Michael is the idiot who cheated on me with Eric's skanky sister-which he totally regretted. Oh, but don't worry, it's totally over between us now, but if he gets jealous, well, can you blame him? And lastly, there's Hyde. You should talk to him. He's super cool and loves rock and roll, just like you!"</p>
<p>Jackie finally finished her rambling just as she and Chip stepped through the garage door.</p>
<p>Hyde was sitting on a porch chair observing the crowd when they walked through, Jackie with her arm tucked into some other guys.' He settled himself more comfortably in the chair. That one he wasn't expecting. He guessed his haiku had worked. Finally. He didn't care, but he did wonder who the hell this guy was and how and why Jackie got him to agree to come to this stupid barbecue.</p>
<p>"Hey, everybody, this is Chip," she announced. "He's been after me for a while now so I just said what the hell." What the hell kind of name was Chip? "Chip, this is everybody."</p>
<p>"Hey, everybody. Jackie, I'll get you something to drink." So he was a kiss ass.</p>
<p>"Whatever."</p>
<p>Hyde's eyebrows slightly raised. Whatever. She'd gotten better at sounding zen. Hell, she was acting cooler than he'd ever seen her act. Ironic, since she seemed to only be cool when she wasn't all over him, and her uncoolness was the main factor driving him away from her. Whatever, he thought.</p>
<p>"So you're with this Chip guy now?" he asked emotionlessly as she leaned against the porch rail. He thought it was a good question considering she had never talked about a Chip before, and she talked about everything.</p>
<p>"Yep," she shrugged.</p>
<p>"Huh." Interesting.</p>
<p>"Why?" her face transformed into a mocking expression, and her tone was light as she asked, "Do you care?"</p>
<p>Hyde definitely did not care. He just thought it was interesting how this morning it had been him she was all over. Well, he'd known that probably wasn't real anyway. She was still on the rebound. "No," he answered. "If you want to date this guy that's...cool."</p>
<p>"It is?" Jackie momentarily lost her zen. She knew it! Hyde's cool wasn't just a regular 'cool.' It was a jealous 'cool.' She had to physically stop herself form jumping up and down and screaming. God, she had to tell Donna.</p>
<p>Hyde shrugged. "Whatever."</p>
<p>"Mmkay," she said, her voice an octave higher. "Well, I gotta go tell Donna I finally said yes to going out with him. She is going to freak!"</p>
<p>With that final lie she dashed over to Donna's house as fast as she could.</p>
<p>But Donna didn't share her enthusiasm. After their brief conversation, Jackie skipped back over to the Formans, not letting Donna's attitude get to her. Knowing how to play this game well, she slipped her arm into Chip's and started talking to him, vaguely over-exaggerating her interest. But as far as she could tell, Steven never looked her way once.</p>
<p>***************************************</p>
<p>Hyde was amazed by the fact that this was the most frustrating Jackie had ever been, and it was on a day when she was hardly talking to him. He should be overjoyed. Anyway, he hoped this guy wouldn't stick around for very long. He seemed boring, but he did follow her around and nod at everything she was saying as if what she was saying was interesting.</p>
<p>That was exactly what Jackie wanted. Someone to fawn over her. Good for her. Although if Jackie got cheated on again, he'd see to it himself that the guy would be physically unable to get laid for a long time - as he would for any of his friends.</p>
<p>On the other side of the driveway, Jackie was getting tired of waiting to see if Steven would do or say anything, so she had to take matters into her own hands. Again.</p>
<p>"Oh, there's Steven!" she chirped, pulling Chip along behind her. "Let's go talk to him."</p>
<p>Chip obediently followed her to the spot where Steven was sitting. Jackie waited for him to sit down then perched herself on his lap.</p>
<p>"Hey, Steven," she grinned. "I was just telling Chip here that he could come talk to you. He's in a rock band you know, and he plays a bunch of gigs all over the place." She turned to look at Chip as she said, "Steven loves rock and roll. It's kind of his thing." Then she turned back around. "Anyway, you guys should get to know each other. I'm gonna go grab a drink."</p>
<p>She smiled and strutted away from them, setting her plan fully into motion.</p>
<p>Hyde watched Jackie flaunt away to and from a heated conversation with Laurie as he asked, "So you and Jackie, huh?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, isn't she something?"</p>
<p>Yeah she was...something. Annoying, spoiled, obsessive, rich, naive, annoying (again). Of course, by 'something,' he knew Chip meant hot. Which, he supposed, Jackie was too.</p>
<p>"Sure," he shrugged, waiting to see what else he would say. What could a guy like this see in Jackie?</p>
<p>"Sometimes, though, I kinda hate it when she talks." That comment earned a laugh from Steven. At least the guy wasn't a total moron.</p>
<p>"I hear ya." He got up to throw his almost-empty can of beer away; Chip followed him.</p>
<p>"Damn, she's always talking." Hyde turned around. Was complaining about Jackie all this guy was gonna do? That was his thing. Or Forman's. Or Donna's. Or anybody but this guy's. "But I figure it's worth it if I can nail her."</p>
<p>Understanding spread through Hyde's veins. Ah. That was it. The guy didn't see anything in Jackie except for a hot tiny chick that would probably be a good lay. Hyde scratched the back of his head. "Huh." Protectiveness was not a feeling he was used to, and definitely not one he ever acted on. So he just said, "Yeah, you should probably think about that, man. You know, I mean Jackie's kinda young, and she's only had like one boyfriend, so-"</p>
<p>"Hey, that's not a big surprise. You know, she's a bitch."</p>
<p>Oh, this guy was a dick. And an idiot. Who says that to the friend of someone they were trying to nail? He had to know Hyde was Jackie's friend. What did she even see in a guy like that?</p>
<p>God, Jackie could be such an idiot. A stupid, hopeless romantic idiot.</p>
<p>Hyde punched him. Harder than he'd expected to. He didn't even realize he was punching him 'til he was lying on the ground.</p>
<p>Crap.</p>
<p>"Steven, what happened?!" It was Jackie. Of course. Double crap.</p>
<p>Hyde had completely lost his zen. Why the hell did he just punch this guy? "Nothin.' Just somebody...and then the guy said...bitch and there was nothin.'"</p>
<p>Because she wasn't daft in the head, it took her two seconds to put it together. "Oh my God! He called me a bitch and you hit him! And that's what happened isn't it?"</p>
<p>In the corner of his eye, Hyde could see his facade slowly crumbling. This was his worst nightmare. "No," he said unconvincingly.</p>
<p>"Liar! I am the bitch! And you love me!"</p>
<p>He watched her get the dreamiest look on her face. Goddamn it. He had to get away from her. "Get away from me, Jackie." He shoved her aside, ignoring the brief look of hurt that flashed across her face, and stormed into the kitchen.</p>
<p>***************************************</p>
<p>Jackie's insides were a mess. To her left, two men were helping Chip up, who was leaving, not that she cared about that at all. She knew what had happened. Steven couldn't even deny it properly. He had defended her. But this time he did it in front of everyone else. That had to mean something. And yet, he still wanted nothing to do with her.</p>
<p>She considered following him into the kitchen but remembered her talk with Donna earlier. You're stalking him, Jackie.</p>
<p>Feeling conflicted, Jackie sat on a chair and submitted herself to daydreaming about a world where Steven cared about her and let her know it.</p>
<p>Steven, meanwhile, was supremely pissed. At himself. He would lock himself in the basement for the rest of the day, without beer, as punishment. What the hell had just come over him?</p>
<p>But he froze when he walked into the kitchen and heard Mrs. Forman's greeting words: "Oh, Steven, I saw what happened. Is your girlfriend okay?"</p>
<p>What? "My girlfriend?" Hyde had never had a girlfriend. Hyde didn't do girlfriends. Hyde didn't want to do girlfriends.</p>
<p>"Yeah, the bossy little mean one you're always hanging around with. Oh, uh, Jackie!"</p>
<p>Hyde was always hanging around with all his friends. Why on earth would Mrs. Forman assume anything like that? The thought of him with Jackie was inconceivable. "She's not my girlfriend."</p>
<p>"Are you sure?" Mrs. Forman asked teasingly.</p>
<p>"Yes I'm sure! I don't like her. She's shallow and rich and mean and bossy. She's everything that I hate!"</p>
<p>"But, Steven, you hate everything."</p>
<p>Hyde blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"</p>
<p>"Well, it means that maybe you like her, cause...I kinda think you do."</p>
<p>"No," Hyde insisted. "How could I like her? Because I don't like her. Because I can't like her. Mrs. Forman, if I like her, shoot me."</p>
<p>Without hesitation, Mrs. Forman turned to him, making a gun with her hands, and went, "Pow!"</p>
<p>Hyde settled his anger with a deep breath. Did he like Jackie? He didn't like Jackie. Jackie annoyed the living hell out of him. Jackie got to him more than any other person ever had. Jackie was his polar opposite.</p>
<p>He had liked Donna once and Donna never made him as pissed as Jackie did. Hell, Donna never made him feel anything as intensely as Jackie had. And not in a good way.</p>
<p>So why did he punch a guy for saying he wanted to sleep with her? Why...screw it.</p>
<p>He shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't like her. And he would prove it.</p>
<p>She was still outside. Fez was leaning next to her talking. Kelso was standing underneath the basketball rim. Hyde had no courteousness in his voice when he said, "Jackie, get your car, we're going on a freakin' date."</p>
<p>********************************************</p>
<p>He should've known this was a mistake. Hyde didn't know how to act on real data. Especially ones with Jackie, the most high-maintenance girl he'd ever come in contact with, who was sitting across from him swinging her legs. It was so damn awkward. When he looked at her she smiled at him. She looked hopeful.</p>
<p>"This is the best date ever," she said, which was clearly a lie.</p>
<p>Why couldn't she just call him cheap and poor so they could get this over with? "Jackie, we haven't talked in thirty minutes."</p>
<p>"That's okay," she promised. "Steven, you don't have to say anything. I understand you."</p>
<p>He scoffed. Her hand was resting lightly on his leg. "Oh, you do, do you?"</p>
<p>"Sure. Okay, so you're probably sitting there thinking: I'm on this date with this girl, who really, really likes me, and she's so beautiful that-"</p>
<p>He had to stop her. "Jackie-"</p>
<p>"Shhh." She shushed him with a finger to his lips. This was ridiculous. Sorta. What he was really thinking was why? He wasn't any more her type than she was his. Why would someone so...like her like him? For whatever reason, he couldn't look away from her. "And you're wondering," she continued, "How can I open up to her when everyone I have ever loved have abandoned me? Am I even worthy of love? Well. You are, Steven. You are."</p>
<p>He wondered briefly what movie she'd gotten that from. God, she was so dramatic, and she wholeheartedly believed in her romantics, Hyde had the urge to just grab her and-</p>
<p>The mood was too serious. They couldn't go on like this. He turned his head away, put his head in his hands, and began to fake cry. He even started laughing into his hands as Jackie hugged him and comforted him. Then, for the sake of comedy, he stopped crying and rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry in her face.</p>
<p>Jackie didn't understand the sake of comedy. Instead she wondered what in the hell she was even doing here. It was just like Donna had told her. She couldn't force him to want to like her. She threw up her hands. "Let's go home."</p>
<p>"Oh come on, I'm kidding," Steven said as she walked towards the car. He hadn't thought she would take it so seriously and be so hurt that she'd want to leave.</p>
<p>Because if Steven wasn't sure about anything else (and he wasn't), he was sure that he hated seeing her all sad. He couldn't take it when she had asked him to take her to prom, couldn't stand it after Kelso had cheated on her. Went shopping with her just to keep her mind off of him. He sure as hell was not gonna be the reason she got all sad and mopey.</p>
<p>Besides, he didn't hate her company. If anything, he'd grown to accept it, and then eventually appreciate it, and he found he didn't want to take her home just yet. "This is-this is all right. We can hang out here for a while, okay?"</p>
<p>She smiled triumphantly. "God. Here, have some of my pop," he offered her as she slid back up next to him.</p>
<p>Jackie's heart fluttered as she took it. He was looking straight ahead. She wondered if he was nervous or if she was just getting her hopes up again. She shimmied closer to him. He didn't push her away. So she bit her lip and picked up his arm and draped it over her shoulder. He let her.</p>
<p>Hyde looked at her as she did those things. At first he wanted to laugh at her relentlessness. But he turned to look at her, really look at her, as she lifted his arm. She really was very pretty. And close to him. He felt his heart skip a quick beat.</p>
<p>Part of him wanted her hand to stay in his when she placed it over her shoulder, but it fell back in her lap, and he didn't want to be the one to initiate hand-holding. That wasn't his style. So he muttered a soft "okay" and they sat there together.</p>
<p>*******************************************</p>
<p>"Thanks for taking me out, Steven. And for the pop," Jackie said as she sipped the last of it.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, I know cherry's your favourite so."</p>
<p>Jackie grinned and looked up at him. "You know a lot about me, Steven Hyde."</p>
<p>Her tone was teasing, thank God, so he teased her back. "Yeah. Too much. And you," he tapped her nose playfully, "know nothing about me."</p>
<p>Jackie laughed. "Well, enlighten me."</p>
<p>Hyde considered it for a second. "Nah."</p>
<p>"Oh, come on!" Jackie jumped off the car and stood before him on the ground, her hands on his knees, much like they had been at the start of the day. "Tell me something-anything-that none of our other friends know."</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Jackie pouted her lips and stared up at him. "Is that supposed to work on me?"</p>
<p>"Fine. I'll start." She rapped her fingers against his legs and scrunched up her face. "Oh, okay, so once, when I was 11, I was trying to get my mom's attention, so I tried to cut my own hair and it came out so terrible, my mom actually cried. And our hair stylist was out of town so I had to live like that for a week." She shuddered as she thought about it.</p>
<p>"You had to cut your hair to get your mom's attention?"</p>
<p>Jackie didn't feel like answering that question, so she nudged him. "Your turn."</p>
<p>"When I was 11 I ran away for the first time.," he said, not sure why exactly he said it.</p>
<p>"You ran away?"</p>
<p>Hyde nodded. "Made it all the way to Fatso Burger before I realized I was thirsty and turned back around."</p>
<p>"Guess we've both had some traumatic experiences, huh?"</p>
<p>He smirked. "Guess so."</p>
<p>Jackie smiled.</p>
<p>*********************************************</p>
<p>"It's cold. I'm cold. Are you cold?"</p>
<p>"No. Cause I listened to Mommy and wore a jacket."</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes. "You know, a gentleman would cuddle with me until I was warm."</p>
<p>"A gentleman I am not." Back and forth, up and down-Jackie's emotions had been through a lot today and they just kept going. "But here." As she looked at him he shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her. Part of her wished he would drape it over her shoulders himself, like in the movies, but she took it anyway and put it on.</p>
<p>Taking advantage of his sudden niceness, Jackie asked for the millionth time that night, "So tell me the story of why you punched Chip."</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes. "Not this again."</p>
<p>"Come on, it's so romantic."</p>
<p>"It was not romantic."</p>
<p>"My knight in shining armor."</p>
<p>"I can't ride a horse."</p>
<p>"No but you can punch like a hero."</p>
<p>"I didn't like him, all right? It had nothing to do with you."</p>
<p>"Nothing to do with him calling me a bitch."</p>
<p>"Nope."</p>
<p>Jackie grinned. "I don't believe you."</p>
<p>"Whatever."</p>
<p>"Cool."</p>
<p>Their gazes met for a little while and stayed there until Jackie broke the moment with a smile and Hyde rolled his eyes lightly, fighting a smile of his own from forming.</p>
<p>*********************************************</p>
<p>"So. Our first date's almost over."</p>
<p>"Yep," he nodded.</p>
<p>"What'd you think?" she prompted, which would've been a much easier question to answer if he actually knew what he thought.</p>
<p>"It was no worse than bowling." Jackie gave him a confused look. "I don't hate bowling."</p>
<p>She nodded.</p>
<p>Hyde found another thing to add to his list of Things He Hates About Jackie. He hated her eyes. He wore sunglasses all the time so no one could see his or what emotions were held in them. But she had hers there in full display. Big, open, multi-coloured, and pleading. She didn't try to mask what she felt at all. They were kind of pretty.</p>
<p>She was leaning closer to him.</p>
<p>Hyde had never been nervous to kiss a girl before. But this was Jackie. He wasn't supposed to want to kiss Jackie. But, God help him, in that moment, he wanted to. He closed his eyes.</p>
<p>It was light at first. Tentative. They were friends, they didn't know what it would be like to kiss each other. Her smell filled his senses.</p>
<p>The second kiss came right after. A little harder. Hyde tried hard to keep his heart rate from going ballistic but he couldn't concentrate on anything.</p>
<p>Then all hesitation was gone. Jackie put a hand on his cheek and his tongue was in her mouth and she tasted like cherry soda and Hyde thought it had to be the gentlest kiss he'd ever given, but it did things to him no other kiss ever had.</p>
<p>Jackie pulled away first her eyes trained upon him. For her the kiss was sad. The kiss was new. The kiss was terrifying. She did not like it. The moment it happened she felt like she melted. She had never been kissed like that before-like she was this fragile, breakable thing that needed to be handled with care and caution. And it was hardly more than a couple seconds, but in those seconds Jackie completely unraveled. She felt naked. She had never felt like that kissing Michael.</p>
<p>Michael had been all safe. All hands and wanting and open. She knew who he was and what he wanted and what was up next. In Hyde's hands, Jackie didn't even know who she was. It took one kiss for her to know that if he wanted to, he could ruin her.</p>
<p>Did he even want to be here? All her wildest dreams screamed yes, that she saw a side of him none of the others saw, that he knew her and he liked her. But she had always lived in a dream, and Donna had told her this morning it wasn't one Hyde would ever fulfill. Heck, Steven himself had told her that.</p>
<p>Yet here he was. Doing her a service most likely. Who could tell? It was all too much, too risky, too scary.</p>
<p>No, she decided. This was not what she wanted.</p>
<p>She suited up in the best zen face she'd ever mustered. "Huh. Okay, I didn't feel anything."</p>
<p>Hyde froze. She had to be kidding. "Nothing?"</p>
<p>"Well don't get me wrong, the kiss was hot, but...well, did you feel something?"</p>
<p>She was looking at him honestly curious. As if she couldn't imagine that it was possible to feel anything from that kiss. The dreamy look she'd been giving him the past couple weeks was completely gone.</p>
<p>He should've known it. Jackies didn't like the Hydes of this world. Not for real. They did it for the thrill, the rebelliousness, the excitement of doing something Daddy would disapprove of.</p>
<p>Jackie Burkhart was singularly the most maddening person he would ever meet.</p>
<p>"Uh..no," he said, going slightly numb. "Well-no."</p>
<p>"So...I guess that's it then. Turns out you were right about us all along."</p>
<p>Turns out he was. "Yep."</p>
<p>"Sooo what happens now?"</p>
<p>Desperately wanting to return to the lighthearted banter they had going on earlier, he joked, "I'm not opposed to doing it."</p>
<p>He laughed as she gasped. "Take me home, you pig!"</p>
<p>"Yes, dear."</p>
<p>She giggled.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I usually don't include my own analyses of the chapters I write about Hyde and Jackie's perspectives, but this episode is a goldmine of feelings and thoughts that we never really get any real clarity on. Everyone has their theories but who really felt something and who didn't, and why did they both deny it, and why did this subplot disappear for an entire season after? From what I've seen, a lot of people think Hyde was scared of his feelings for Jackie and didn't wanna be the one to pursue her (which, yeah, he totally was), and Jackie said she didn't feel anything from the kiss because she thought there was no way Hyde returned her feelings (which I also agree with). But, personally, I like to think Jackie was even more scared than Hyde. In my overdramatic hopeless romantic head, I think what she felt with Hyde shook her to her core, and that's why she eventually went back to Michael. Yes, she loved Michael in her own way, but I think she loved him mostly because he was so transparent and safe. She knew she could have him wrapped around her finger. Hyde is literally the exact opposite of all that. I do think Jackie and Kelso really loved each other, but I also like to believe that from the very start Hyde was in his own category. Anyway, let me know what you guys think! One of my fave types of fics to read are interpretations of this episode cause it can go so many ways so I had tons of fun writing this. xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Two Truths & a Lie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eric &amp; Donna may not have been there when Hyde announced he was taking Jackie on a date, but that doesn't mean they didn't have any questions for their friends. And they had a lot.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here I am, back at it again with another chapter. It's shorter than usual, but I feel like it's an entity of its own so I didn't want to continue on with other parts/scenes. This would take place directly after Hyde and Jackie's date in 3x08 and into the day after. Kinda just to get into where their mindsets are and what they were like with their friends afterwards. I always thought it was weird how NO ONE ever brought it up and questioned the fact that those two went on a date. But I stopped being surprised at how this show treated Hyde &amp; Jackie a long time ago. Anyway, so here you go. Hope you like.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyde could not wait for this day to be over. He just had to sleep off all the weird crap that went down today, forget it all, and things would go back to normal. So he trudged into the basement grumpier than usual, not expecting to find Forman sprawled on the lawn chair waiting for him expectantly.</p>
<p>"Hey," Hyde grumbled, making a beeline for his room.</p>
<p>"Ah ah ah," Eric sang, stopping him in his tracks. "Not so fast, mister."</p>
<p>"What's your deal tonight, Forman? I'm not in the mood."</p>
<p>He snorted, "Yeah, well you better be, cause I heard from through the grapevine that you took a certain she-devil on a date tonight?!"</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes. "Who told ya that, Fez?"</p>
<p>"No, actually. Kelso. He was in quite a state."</p>
<p>"Well tell him not to get his panties in a twist, it wasn't a real date."</p>
<p>Forman's entire body sagged in relief as he sighed, "Oh thank God." Hyde rolled his eyes. "So why'd you do it then?"</p>
<p>"Man," he began, taking a seat on the couch. "Do you know what it was like havin' her follow me around like a puppy dog for weeks? Steven this and Steven that. Man, I was goin' nuts. Even your mom was starting to notice. I had to do something. Figured I'd take her out so she could be reminded of all the reasons she hates me and the entire poor population. Prove she was full of crap and all that."</p>
<p>"And it worked?"</p>
<p>"Hell yeah it worked, man, that girl has standards so high it's a wonder how Michael got her to sleep with him."</p>
<p>"So...it had nothing to do with you knocking out her date?"</p>
<p>"Man, what is this, 20 questions?" Forman raised a suspecting eyebrow, so he admitted, "All right, no, that was different."</p>
<p>"Different how?"</p>
<p>Hyde glared at him, letting him know just how much he was loathed right now. As if what he did was any of their business. But he knew if he didn't get this over with now he'd be dealing with a nightmare tomorrow. His only solace was that Jackie had agreed not to make a big deal of it and tell everyone they decided this was not a path worth taking.</p>
<p>"That won't be hard to believe," she had said through those damn pink lips on their way home. "I tend to stay away from the scruffy, the dirty, and the poor."</p>
<p>"Good," he had said back. "And I stay away from the shrill, the bossy, and the peppy, so we should be in the clear."</p>
<p>"We are friends, though, right, Steven?"</p>
<p>"Whatever, man. As long as you quit your obsessing over me."</p>
<p>"Done." She had grinned. Easy as that.</p>
<p>"That guy was a total doucheface," Hyde explained to his best friend. "I mean, he knows I hang with Jackie and he was tellin' me all his dirtiest intentions with her, talkin' about how all he wanted from her was a quick lay. Now Jackie may not be my favourite person, but he was askin' for it."</p>
<p>Forman shrugged. Hyde figured he probably didn't know what to make of that explanation, but take it or leave it, that was what he was getting. Nodding slowly, Eric sat up straighter, getting ready to leave the basement for the night and head upstairs. But not without one more damn question apparently. "So what'd you even do, man? On your date?"</p>
<p>Tired of the interrogation and not at all willing to answer this question, Hyde stood up. "Nothin' really, Forman. She talked my ear off almost the entire time. I spent half the night wishing she'd shut up."</p>
<p>Grinning, Forman stood too, heading toward the staircase. "Sounds about right. Now, just to be sure," he said from the bottom of the stairs, pointing a stern finger in Hyde's direction. "You don't have a thing for that monster, do you?"</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes. "Forman, I can't stand her."</p>
<p>**********************************************************</p>
<p>"Jackie, come on, aren't your feet killing you?"</p>
<p>"No, Donna, so I can't see how your feet would be, given that they're twenty times the size of mine."</p>
<p>Ignoring the jab, Donna whined, "We've been shopping for hours. What more could you possibly have to do?"</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes at Donna's incessant complaining. She didn't care how tired her friend was, retail therapy was the only therapy she knew, and boy did she need it after last night. She told her as much. "Donna, after my night last night, I need to shop until I drop. Literally. That's why I brought you. So you could carry me out of her and your broad sturdy shoulders."</p>
<p>"Last night? What happened last night?"</p>
<p>Jackie sighed. Donna and Eric had been absent when Steven made his declaration that he was taking Jackie on a date. Jackie figured Donna hadn't been caught up to speed when it wasn't the first thing she brought up that morning, but she kind of wished she had. After weeks of going boy crazy over Hyde, the idea of admitting she went on a date with him left a weird taste on her tongue.</p>
<p>"I went on a date with Steven," she choked.</p>
<p>"You what?"</p>
<p>"I don't know why you're so surprised, Donna, no man can resist me."</p>
<p>At a loss for words, Donna sputtered, "You...Hyde? Like, willingly took you on a date?"</p>
<p>Jackie glared at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"</p>
<p>"It means he, like, hates you!"</p>
<p>She shrugged. "Guess not." Jackie kept walking.</p>
<p>"Hey, slow down! You can't just drop that bomb and- hey, why are you just now telling me?! I've been with you all morning. Jackie!"</p>
<p>"Donna, your legs take up 75% of your body, you can walk faster than that."</p>
<p>"Would you quit it with the giant jokes?"</p>
<p>"Who said they're jokes?"</p>
<p>"Whatever, dwarf. You've gotta give me details. How was it? What did you guys even do? How'd you even get him to take you out?"</p>
<p>"Oh, you know my date, Chip? Yeah, he called me a bitch so Steven punched him."</p>
<p>"Oh my God. So he really was jealous?"</p>
<p>Shrugging again, Jackie said, "Who knows? Maybe. Anyway, he came out all tough and angry looking and told me to get my car cause he was taking me out. Ugh. That should've been my first warning."</p>
<p>"What, the date didn't go well?"</p>
<p>Jackie made a sour face. "Of course not, Donna. Steven, he's...he's so not my type. God, I can't believe you let me have a crush on him for so long."</p>
<p>"Oh, yeah, my bad," Donna rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>"I don't know what I was thinking. I could never be with Steven Hyde. Just...the idea itself scares me so much it makes a trashy department store look like heaven," Jackie rattled off, meaning every word.</p>
<p>"What made you change your mind?" Donna's tone was amused, and Jackie flipped her hair, loving the attention. Donna was so much more fun to hang out with when she was talking about something interesting (like her) instead of complaining all the time.</p>
<p>"Well first of all, his version of a date was stopping by Fatso Burger and then parking at Mount Hump for the rest of the night. I mean, what part of that is romantic?" She conveniently left out that in the moment she had thought it was the best date ever and had laughed harder with Steven that night than she had in a long time. "Besides, he's hardly a gentleman, and I need someone who's gonna take care of me, Donna. The nicest thing he did the entire night was give me the rest of his pop. Oh, and his jacket, but I practically had to beg for it, so that doesn't even count."</p>
<p>"Wow," Donna said after she finished her rambling. "Well, at lease you got it out of your system, right?"</p>
<p>Jackie thought of the way Steven had kissed her and felt goosebumps spark up across her arms and on the back of her neck. Maybe he wasn't completely out of her system. Not yet. But soon. "Sure."</p>
<p>Donna squinted her eyes at her. "So nothing else happened."</p>
<p>Jackie faltered for a second then gave Donna a stupid look. "What do I look like? Of course nothing happened."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Zeppelin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After Donna gives her Led Zeppelin concert tickets to Fez for his date with Caroline, Hyde, Kelso, and Jackie decide to have some fun of their own.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>Here's another complete missing moment that came straight out of my head. The point of this chapter, really, was to build friendships and kinds of make transitions make more sense. Like I said before, I love these people's friendships and I think the relationships between Hyde and Jackie and Kelso is so precious. Like, they love each other a lot. Anyway, so this is just a cute, fun, friendship building chapter, takes place after 3x12 when Donna gave her Led Zeppelin tickets to Fez. Let me know if you like it or if you think I should stick with just Jackie &amp; Hyde. As always, thanks for reading :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Donna, I can't believe you gave those tickets to Fez and Caroline. They were Zeppelin, man. Zeppelin. This is like the highest form of betrayal."</p>
<p>"Yeah, Donna," Kelso agreed. "That's so not cool. I was ready to get my rock on!"</p>
<p>"You guys, Fez and Caroline really like each other! It was the right thing to do."</p>
<p>"Oh please, you lumberjack, you just didn't want to choose out of me, Michael, and Hyde."</p>
<p>"Jackie, you can't even name one Led Zeppelin song."</p>
<p>"I can too!" Jackie lied through her teeth.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah? Let's hear it."</p>
<p>Jackie froze, arms folded with no answer in her head.</p>
<p>"Just get out of here, Donna, I can't even look at you right now," Hyde came to her rescue.</p>
<p>"You know what," Donna exclaimed, "Fine. I don't want to be around you losers anyway."</p>
<p>Jackie, Hyde, and Michael each picked up the most throwable object nearest to them and hurled it at her. "Dillholes!" she yelled, ducking and lunging out the door.</p>
<p>"Well this blows," Jackie declared, throwing herself onto the couch next to Michael.</p>
<p>"Tell me about it," Hyde agreed.</p>
<p>"Now what are we gonna do tonight?"</p>
<p>"Oh! Oh! I have an idea!" Kelso shot up in his seat glancing between his friends excitedly.</p>
<p>"Well spit it out!"</p>
<p>"We should have our own Zeppelin concert. Right here in the basement!"</p>
<p>Jackie snapped her fingers. "And Eric won't be here so it might actually be fun!"</p>
<p>Slowly, Hyde nodded. "Kelso, for the first time in your life, I think you're onto something."</p>
<p>"Uh, I'm full of good ideas, Hyde," his idiot friend replied. "You just can't recognize it."</p>
<p>"And we shouldn't invite Donna," Jackie inserted. "You know, since she didn't want to invite any of us to the actual concert."</p>
<p>"Well, it's settled," Hyde said. "I'm gonna run to the store and grab some booze. Let's all meet back here at 8."</p>
<p>"Man, this is awesome!" Kelso said giddily. "A Zeppelin party! Ooh, I'll get some firecrackers!"</p>
<p>"Michael, we don't need firecrackers to listen to Led Zeppelin and get drunk indoors."</p>
<p>Kelso scoffed and gave Hyde a can-you-believe-this-chick look. "You always need firecrackers, Jackie. Have I taught you nothing?"</p>
<p>"You taught me how to spot two-timing liars from a mile away." She fake-smiled at him.</p>
<p>"And now you'll never be cheated on again! So you're welcome, Jackie. God."</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes and shook her head in partial disgust, partial amusement. "Whatever. I've gotta go get dressed. This outfit so does not scream rock and roll."</p>
<p>She collected her things and left the basement, leaving Hyde and Kelso alone. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin?' Hyde asked.</p>
<p>"Buy a pole and convince Jackie to pole dance for us?"</p>
<p>Hyde smacked him across his head. "No, you moron! I'm thinking we should go to Bob's and steal that big speaker he's got so we can turn this into a real concert."</p>
<p>"Jeez, Hyde," Kelso whined, rubbing the place where he was hit. "You gotta admit that was a good idea. Jackie's got a rockin' bod!"</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes and walked past Kelso, determined to get the speaker himself. Though he had to admit, Kelso had a point.</p>
<p>*********************************************************</p>
<p>Hyde was almost done his second beer when Jackie walked into the basement after 8:30, and he almost choked on it when he saw her. She was wearing all black and dark colours and knee high boots and was that leather?</p>
<p>"Jackie, what the hell are you wearing?"</p>
<p>Jackie grinned knowingly. "Do you like it? I figured since we were going to be listening to your favourite band I should try to dress more like you-or not like you, but like how you would dress if you were a girl and had a sense of style. It looks even better on me than I would've thought, not that that's totally surprising, but Michael is so going to regret cheating on me."</p>
<p>Hyde cleared his throat. Michael, Michael, Michael. He was sure Michael would. Hell, if he saw his ex-girlfriend in an outfit like that he'd regret just about everything too. It was a good thing he didn't do girlfriends. He shrugged. "It's way better than pink and rainbows and unicorns."</p>
<p>Jackie squealed, too excited to care about the back-handed compliment. "This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to hear Led Zeppelin sing."</p>
<p>Hyde normal scowl deepened. "Jackie, do you know anything about Led Zeppelin?"</p>
<p>"I know he's you're favourite artist," she said, placing a hand on her hip.</p>
<p>"Jesus Christ." Hyde took a deep breath. "Jackie, Led Zeppelin is a band. There's four guys, and they're awesome, and-why the hell are you so excited to listen to music you probably won't even like from a band you don't even know?"</p>
<p>"How do you know I wouldn't like it?" she challenged.</p>
<p>"I like it, and we generally don't like the same things."</p>
<p>"Well maybe I will."</p>
<p>Hyde raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I don't care what we do as long as I don't have to hang out by myself on a Friday night. Hello, even Fez has a girlfriend now, and I can't even score a proper date!" Hyde wondered if that was supposed to be a jab at the disaster of a date they'd had a little while ago, then chose not to wonder about it anymore. He didn't care what she thought about that night, only what he thought, which was never again. "Besides," she continued. "If it means I get to wear a cute outfit, I'm in."</p>
<p>"Whatever," Hyde mumbled and took another swig of his beer.</p>
<p>"Where's Michael? Weren't we supposed to be here at 8?"</p>
<p>"You came past 8:30."</p>
<p>"Yeah, but I'm always late! If he takes any longer the Formans will be back and shut down the party before it even starts."</p>
<p>Hyde thought about it. "You're right," he decided. "Let's just start without him. You should at least try to learn the music anyway, get used to it for when Kelso gets here." Standing up, he went over to the record player, Jackie following him with loudly clacking boots that echoed around the room. "All right, listen," he started explaining to her as he pulled out a record. "I'm gonna start you off with the best. This is Led Zeppelin IV and all the songs are great, and if you don't like 'em, shut your trap about it."</p>
<p>Jackie nodded. Not knowing what else to say, Hyde went ahead and started the record. Having already connected it to the speaker, the opening sounds of the guitar filled the room instantly. He turned to gauge Jackie's reaction.</p>
<p>Hey hey, mama, said the way you move<br/>Gonna make you sweat<br/>Gonna make you groove</p>
<p>Hyde laughed when Jackie jumped at the suddenness of Black Dog, eyes widening a little as she drank it in.</p>
<p>Oh oh, child, the way you shake that thing<br/>Gonna make you burn<br/>Gonna make you sting</p>
<p>"It's...loud," she said over the speakers. Hyde rolled his eyes, still leaning against the record player and watching her. She hated it, he knew.</p>
<p>Hey hey, baby, when you walk that way<br/>Watch your honey drip<br/>Can't keep away</p>
<p>As the song and Jackie's discomfort continued, Hyde questioned why they hadn't thought to steal Bob's speaker before tonight. This was awesome.</p>
<p>I gotta roll, can't stand still<br/>Gotta flame at heart<br/>Can't get my fill</p>
<p>She was just standing there, her dark lips pursed together as she took in the music. Even when she didn't entirely look like herself, Jackie was beautiful. This was their first time being alone together since their Veteran's Day date, and while it was hardly awkward, Hyde could feel the slight tension in the room that would probably never disappear. They seem to have reached an unspoken agreement to never talk about the date, which was fine by him. Except in those clothes and boots, she was looking a lot like the kind of girl Hyde would consider his 'type,' (disregarding her personality, of course) and his gaze flickered on her lips briefly, wondering if it would feel just as good to kiss her a second time.</p>
<p>Eyes that shine, burning red<br/>Dreams of you all through my head</p>
<p>Those lyrics broke through the mess going on in Hyde's brain. No way, he didn't dream of Jackie. The idea was way too morbid. He couldn't stand there and stare at her anymore. "I need another beer," he announced heading to the deep freeze where he had put several beers to chill. Grabbing one and going back to his seat, he took a long refreshing sip and closed his eyes, moving his head to the music. He hoped Kelso would get here soon. At least he appreciated good music.</p>
<p>He stayed just like that until the song ended and when it did, he opened his eyes to find Jackie standing at the record player, finger hovering over the pause button. She was shaking her head, "Okay, that sucked," she said.</p>
<p>"No, man," Hyde said back. "You suck."</p>
<p>"It was just so loud and full of...full of..."</p>
<p>"Energy," Hyde finished for her. "It's rock and roll, man."</p>
<p>"Well I have a better idea." She settled herself on the couch, crossing her legs, which only brought his attention to the sliver of skin between her boots and skirt. Damn it. Before, it had been easy to write her off and label her as Kelso's girlfriend, or Donna's friend, or that chick that spends all her time with them even though she claims not to like them, and nothing else. Even after they'd crossed the line from contempt to mutual respect and acceptance to eventual friendship, he didn't think of her much, and when he did, his mind never strayed.</p>
<p>But after that goddamn kiss it was impossible not to look at her and think hot and wonder things a friend should not be wondering. This outfit had to go.</p>
<p>"What idea?" he asked, ignoring the thoughts in his head.</p>
<p>"How about instead of listening to that godawful music all night, we just have some much needed circle time?" she smiled brightly, clearly expecting weed to win over Zeppelin.</p>
<p>"Jackie, we smoke almost every day. This is Zeppelin night."</p>
<p>Jackie groaned. "Fine, well at least give me a couple hits so I can be high enough not to care about the music."</p>
<p>He studied her for a second then shook his head. "No. You know what you need? You need to get drunk enough to love the music."</p>
<p>Jackie cocked her head to the side. "Huh."</p>
<p>"Here." He stood up and fished out another beer from the deep freeze then tossed it to her.</p>
<p>"Fair enough," she sighed, opened it, and took her first sip.</p>
<p>"Wait, hold on." He held up a finger signalling her to pause and he went and got another beer.</p>
<p>"Really, Hyde, you haven't even finished this one yet."</p>
<p>"No, but I'm almost finished, and you can't start a chugging contest with a half-done beer."</p>
<p>"A what now?"</p>
<p>"C'mon, Jackie, it'll be fun."</p>
<p>"Yeah, except we both know you're going to win, you alcoholic. It's in your genes."</p>
<p>"Yeah, but it'll get you drunk quicker, and I'll finally be able to say I beat all your weak asses at a chugging contest. It's win-win."</p>
<p>She glared at him and they had a quick stare-off before she relented. "Fine."</p>
<p>"And," he continued, getting to the best part. "I have the best soundtrack to go along with our little competition." Grinning, he went back to the record player and hit play. The opening beats for Rock and Roll filled the air. "Doesn't this get you pumped?"</p>
<p>Despite herself, Jackie smiled. "Yeah sorta. Okay, you ready?"</p>
<p>"You're on."</p>
<p>"Wait, hold on this one's open already. You can't shotgun a beer after it's open."</p>
<p>"Well get another one, genius." he said without faltering, but as she rolled her eyes and headed toward the freezer, he studied her curiously. He had meant a regular chugging contest, not a shotgun one, but even better. He wondered if she'd ever shotgunned before. Before she got her beer and headed back over, Hyde quickly ran to his room and grabbed a pocket knife.</p>
<p>When he came back outside she was in her original spot, standing behind the couch, brand new beer in hand.</p>
<p>"You're goin' down, Beaulah."</p>
<p>Jackie gave him a deathly look. "You'd be surprised how much I can fit in my mouth, Steven."</p>
<p>Hyde gaped at her. She did not just say that. She needed to get out of that outfit. And crap, now he was thinking about her without clothes on. No one on earth was this frustrating.</p>
<p>Jackie was smiling. "Close your mouth, you pervert, I was joking. I am not dirty."</p>
<p>"Really?" he smirked. "Cause we can change that!"</p>
<p>Jackie's jaw dropped and she smacked his arm.</p>
<p>"Hey, you started it!" he defended.</p>
<p>"Whatever, let's just get this over with."</p>
<p>She handed him her beer and he pierced a hole in the side with his knife, handed it back to her, then did the same to his. "Ready?" She nodded. "3, 2, 1, go!"</p>
<p>To the energizing sound of Rock and Roll Hyde tilted his head backward, opened his beer, and chugged it down. He was going fine at first, but then from the very corner of his eye, he saw Jackie and the way her throat moved as she gulped down her beer and holy shit. His breath caught and all of a sudden he was choking and couldn't take in anymore beer. Coughing, he doubled over, trying hard to catch his breath and not let the can of beer drop.</p>
<p>"I won!" Crap. "Oh my God!" she was giggling like a 5-year-old now. "I won! I beat you at a chugging contest!"</p>
<p>Hyde glared at her unforgivingly, but she didn't care. She just pointed him and laughed triumphantly. "Oh yeah!" Suddenly into the music, she started dancing around, playing air guitar and making faces at him. He scowled. Getting a hang of the song, she sang loudly, "Been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time!" She was ruining Zeppelin for him. He wouldn't have thought that was possible.</p>
<p>When the song ended, she hit pause again, and looked at him with a huge grin on her face.</p>
<p>"I choked. Rematch."</p>
<p>"Hmmm, I don't think I want a rematch."</p>
<p>"Yeah, cause you know that's the only reason I lost."</p>
<p>"Damn, we should've bet on it! I would have made you listen to ABBA."</p>
<p>"I'll bet you on the next one."</p>
<p>"Really?" she asked excitedly.</p>
<p>Nodding, Hyde grabbed 2 more beers. "You win this round, I'll listen to ABBA."</p>
<p>"Oh, you're so dead."</p>
<p>"In your dreams."</p>
<p>"Play the song again. I think it's good luck for me. What's it called? It's my new favourite."</p>
<p>Hyde couldn't even revel in the fact that Jackie had just called a Zeppelin song her favourite. "No," he said. "No replays. The next one isn't as upbeat but it's still good. Now, come on."</p>
<p>"Fine." She pressed play and took her spot next to him, handing him her beer.</p>
<p>Repeating the same process as last time, he counted, "3, 2, 1," over The Battle of Evermore and they were off again, gulping down cold beer like their lives depended on it.</p>
<p>Hyde won by more than a few seconds, and when Jackie finally brought her head and hands down, it was to the sight of Hyde's glowering grin. "No ABBA," was all he said.</p>
<p>Too busy trying to catch her breath, Jackie shook her head. "Whatever."</p>
<p>All of a sudden there was a loud crash and they both swivelled around as Kelso tumbled through the door.</p>
<p>"Kelso, what the hell? Where have you been?"</p>
<p>Taking loud, gulping breaths, Kelso stammered out, "Tried...to get firecrackers...but...no money...and the guy...dog...huge. Not fun."</p>
<p>"Well, you're missing out," Jackie said with attitude, placing both hands on her hips. "Hyde and I are already on the third song. And we've had two chugging contests. One of which I won by the way."</p>
<p>"Woah. Jackie, you look hot!"</p>
<p>Ditching her anger, Jackie flipped her hair and grinned. "I know, right?"</p>
<p>"No wonder Hyde let you beat him at a chugging contest."</p>
<p>"What?! He did not let me win!"</p>
<p>Kelso rolled his eyes. "Please. You expect me to believe you beat Hyde at a beer drinking contest? I'm not stupid, Jackie."</p>
<p>"I did!"</p>
<p>"Hyde?"</p>
<p>"I totally let her win, man."</p>
<p>"Ha!"</p>
<p>"Steven!"</p>
<p>"Whatever, guys, it's my turn to let Jackie win a chugging contest."</p>
<p>"Nuh-uh," she shook her head. "No more chugging for me."</p>
<p>"Fine. Me and Hyde then."</p>
<p>"No way, man, I've got an open beer over there I gotta finish before it gets hot."</p>
<p>"Fine! I'll chug a beer by myself." He charged across the room, grabbed a beer, opened it, and started slugging it down. Jackie and Hyde watched slightly in disgust, til Hyde couldn't take it anymore, so he walked behind his friend and kicked the spot behind his knees. Kelso and his beer went sprawling.</p>
<p>"Hyde!" Kelso yelled from the ground. Then he laughed. "That was an awesome burn, man."</p>
<p>Hyde smiled. "Sure was."</p>
<p>Kelso stood up then paused. "Wait, turn up the volume. This is the song, man."</p>
<p>Sure enough, the soft sound of Stairway to Heaven wafted through the room. "Oh, yeah. This, Jackie, is one of the best Zeppelin songs of all time."</p>
<p>Turning the volume up, they all listened with respect and reverence.</p>
<p>"It's slow."</p>
<p>"Just shut up and listen."</p>
<p>Jackie did as she was told, picking up the beer she had first started and sipping it while the song played. The trio stood side by side, drinking beer, and listening to Stairway to Heaven. It was one of the best Friday nights Hyde had had in a long time.</p>
<p>"I like it," Jackie mumbled between lyrics, probably because she could only go so long without talking.</p>
<p>On cue, as the drums came into play, both Kelso and Hyde nodded their heads to the beat. After a while, Kelso started banging imaginary drums in the air, making both Hyde and Jackie and laugh at his antics.</p>
<p>"C'mon, guys!" Kelso urged. "Get into it! Let's be a band!"</p>
<p>"Oh, I'll be piano!"</p>
<p>Jackie moved next to Kelso and Hyde watched the pair of them mime playing instruments and he laughed. They were having genuine, pure fun together, and for one tiny second he wondered if their actual relationship was ever this fun.</p>
<p>"Come on, Hyde," Kelso yelled. He stopped banging the air and threw his arm around his best friend's shoulders. Forgetting all pretenses, Hyde started playing the air guitar to the solo; Kelso placed his hands in front of him like a mic.</p>
<p>"And as we wonder down the road," he sang awfully.</p>
<p>Jackie quit the piano and started playing the guitar too, clearly under the influence of her three beers and two friends, whipping her hair back and forth in tune with the song.</p>
<p>The song played on and so did the three friends, laughing at each other as they drunkenly fooled around. By the end of the song, Jackie and Hyde were back to back, going at it on their guitars, and Kelso stood in front of them like the lead singer, sliding on his knees as he finished, "And she's buying the stairway to heaven."</p>
<p>"What in the hell are you dumbasses doing?"</p>
<p>The three of them looked up, like deer caught in headlights, to find Mr. Forman glowering at them from the stairs.</p>
<p>Kelso responded for them. "Having a Zeppelin concert. Duh."</p>
<p>"Not in my house you're not. Where the hell did you get that speaker?" He held up his hands. "You know what? I don't want to know. When I get back down here this basement better be clean and kid-free. Ya got that?"</p>
<p>"Yes, Mr. Forman," they replied obediently.</p>
<p>Without another word he stomped back up the stairs. They stood in silence for two seconds, then Jackie giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny hands. "Whoops."</p>
<p>Hyde and Kelso chuckled too. "Guess our concert's been cut short."</p>
<p>"Yeah," Jackie said. "It was fun while it lasted." She grinned up at the two boys. "Maybe rock and roll isn't so bad."</p>
<p>"Does that mean you're gonna dress like this from now on?" Kelso asked excitedly.</p>
<p>"No, Michael," she insisted though she clearly loved the attention. "I have a pink sweater in my closet just begging to be worn."</p>
<p>"Should've known it was too good to be true, man," Hyde slapped his friend on the shoulder.</p>
<p>"Yeah," Kelso sighed sadly.</p>
<p>"Man, I can't believe we only listened to one side of one album. It's disgraceful."</p>
<p>Jackie shrugged. "We can listen to some more while we clean up."</p>
<p>"With Red upstairs?" Kelso asked. "I'd rather not leave tonight with a foot in my ass."</p>
<p>Jackie and Hyde exchanged glances. "He has a point."</p>
<p>So, without music, they picked up empty beer cans and mopped up spilled beer and Hyde and Kelso carried Bob's speaker back over while Jackie straightened the cushions on the couch. Soon, the only evidence of the night they'd had was Jackie looking like she just stepped out of a music video.</p>
<p>Hyde went to his room to put back the records he'd taken out, and when he came back out he saw Jackie and Kelso talking together softly. He felt cold all over. "Hey," he said nodding to Jackie, who wasn't totally drunk but not totally sober either. "Want me to ask Forman for the keys to the Vista Cruiser? I can drop ya home."</p>
<p>"Oh, that's okay," she smiled at him. "Michael said he'll walk me home."</p>
<p>"Yeah, man," Kelso said, winking at him dramatically over Jackie's head.</p>
<p>Morons. Both of 'em. "Cool," he said.</p>
<p>Jackie nodded and grabbed her bag. "Well. Thanks for tonight, Hyde. See you tomorrow."</p>
<p>Hyde nodded goodbye as Kelso said, "Later, man," and he watched Jackie walk out the basement with Kelso in tow and a sick feeling in his stomach.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Not a Wonderful Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hyde wishes Jackie never dated Kelso and she had never become part of their friend group. What would life be like?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.</p>
<p>So you know the first episode of season 4 was basically spent following Eric around in a world where he and Donna never kissed. Well I thought I'd give it a go. Turned out to be way easier in theory than it is in real life, but this is what I came up with. I have a lot to say, but I'll leave it for after the chapter. Hope you enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The last couple weeks felt like years and like seconds. Hyde still couldn't believe all the crap that had happened in such a short time span. From thinking he could maybe possibly like Jackie (an insane move on his part) to hanging out with her more (as friends of course) to constantly thinking that she was extremely hot (because she was). Then learning she still had a thing for Kelso (stupid move on <em>her</em> part) and watching her put him through the ringer to determine if he had 'changed' (which he hadn't), and then finally watching her take him back and revert to her previous devilish, intolerable, whiny ways.</p>
<p>He felt like in the last few weeks he had dropped into an alternate universe and now suddenly he was ripped back into the real world. One where Jackie and Kelso made sickening declarations of love for each other and he couldn't stand to be around her for longer than a couple minutes at a time. Maybe it was a little unfair of him, but he wouldn't continue being nice to her and being her friend if all she would do is turn around and ignore all his advice. The next time Kelso broke her heart, it would not be Hyde she ran to. He would make sure of that.</p>
<p>Of course, because life was supremely unfair, Jackie strutted in the basement as all these thoughts were running through his head. Her presence was not a welcome one.</p>
<p>"Oh, it's you," he grumbled.</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's me. Don't act so happy about it."</p>
<p>"Kelso's not here."</p>
<p>"I'm not looking for Michael. I'm looking for Donna."</p>
<p>"Well, as you can see, it's just me. Scurry along now."</p>
<p>She made a disgusted noise. "I see you're as charming as always."</p>
<p>"And you're as bitchy as ever."</p>
<p>"You know what, Hyde? I don't know what's bitten you recently but I really hope you get over it soon, or you're going to chase everyone away with your unpleasantness."</p>
<p>Before he could answer she left the basement as promptly as she'd arrived.</p>
<p>"Shows what you know," he mumbled to himself under his breath. "I've always been this unpleasant and it hasn't chased any of you yet."</p>
<p>And perfect, now he had a pounding headache. He really couldn't stand her. Talking to her for a minute left him with a massive headache. Man, he wished she had never dated Kelso, never entered this basement for a first time, and never forced her way into his group of friends. But some things were just too good to be true.</p>
<p>His head still throbbing painfully, Hyde walked back to his room and lay on his cot, determined to sleep the headache and the bad mood off. Slipping his sun glasses onto the dresser, he closed his eyes and lulled himself to a deep, deep sleep.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Jeez, what a drama queen."</p>
<p>Hyde bolted up at the sound of the deep unfamiliar voice. Standing at the foot of his cot was a man dressed in all white, looking down at him amused. Hyde reached into the drawer behind his bed, his hand curling around a small pocket knife as he demanded, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my room?"</p>
<p>"Oh, come now, let's not get violent," the man said nodding to Hyde hand in his drawer.</p>
<p>Hyde wasn't sure what the hell was going on but he didn't like it. How did he even know he was reaching for a knife? And damn it he still had his goddamn headache. Without thinking much about it, Hyde hurled the knife at the man. But then he wasn't there anymore; he was closer, standing in front of the armchair. Teleported. Oh. He was dreaming.</p>
<p>Great. Even in his dreams he could be annoyed and frustrated. And have a headache.</p>
<p>"All right, enough of that," the man said. "Let's go."</p>
<p>"I'm not goin' anywhere with you. Leave me alone so I can sleep in peace." He chased the guy off with his hands and then settled back into his cot, closing his eyes once again.</p>
<p>"Well why not? You said you wished Jackie had never dated Kelso or become part of your group. I can show you what life would be like without her."</p>
<p>"Can you leave me over there in that life?"</p>
<p>"Uh, well..."</p>
<p>"Then I'm not interested."</p>
<p>Hyde closed his eyes for a third time. "I'm not going anywhere," the man sang. "I'm part of your subconscious. You're <em>already </em>asleep. The only way to get rid of me is to come with me."</p>
<p>Annoyed, Hyde sat up. "What the hell are you even supposed to be? My 'guardian angel?'"</p>
<p>"Well...yes."</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes. "That's great. Why don't you tell the big guy up there that's not really my style. Come back as a hot chick and I'll follow you wherever you want to go."</p>
<p>"I can do hot chick." All of a sudden it was Jackie's voice and Jackie's body standing in his room. Hyde felt his headache spike up a notch.</p>
<p>"Fine!" he yelled. "I'll come with you. But only if you change back. I can't spend another second with her without self-destructing."</p>
<p>Jackie's face smiled for an instant before she changed back to the man dressed all in white. "I knew you'd come around. Let's go."</p>
<hr/>
<p>The angel guy led him to the basement, where he could see a younger version of himself sat on his chair, lazily throwing a ball in the air and catching it over and over. Donna, Eric, and Fez were there too, watching TV and talking softly amongst themselves. It looked like a regular day down in the basement. Hyde was just about to ask what he was supposed to be looking at when Kelso burst through the door in true Kelso fashion: loudly and unceremoniously, bouncing on his heels like a giddy idiot.</p>
<p>"Guys!" he shouted. "You'll never guess who I got to agree to go out on a date with me."</p>
<p>"The sexy chick who sells burgers and candy at school!" Fez guessed.</p>
<p>Kelso made a funny face. "No." He grabbed the lawn chair and swung himself onto it still looking excited. "So I was talking to Jackie Burkhart-you know, the tiny brunette freshman with the rich dad who wears her face on her clothes?"</p>
<p>"Oooh, yes, she is a fox," Fez nodded along.</p>
<p>"Oh, man, Kelso, please don't tell me you're dating <em>her </em>now," Forman groaned.</p>
<p>"I'm not! See, I was talkin' to her, and I was about to ask her out, but then I looked up and noticed <em>Pam Macy </em>sitting down all by herself lookin' all sad. Now, Jackie's pretty hot, but when it came down to it, I had to go with Pam Macy, man. She's easier <em>and </em>she's a blonde. And she said yes!"</p>
<p>No one looked overly enthusiastic. Not even Fez. Because Pam Macy really was extremely easy and agreed to almost every date she was asked on.</p>
<p>"Well, there ya have it," the angel announced, clapping his hands together once, loudly. "Kelso never asked Jackie out and they never dated."</p>
<p>"Wow. Well thanks for the enlightenment, man. Glad I got to see this wonderful version of my life."</p>
<p>"Oh no," he interjected. "It doesn't end here. Take a look at your little friend group just months later."</p>
<p>The man snapped his fingers, but nothing changed. The gang were in their same seats, doing the same thing, in the same place. The only thing different was their clothes.</p>
<p>"Man, this blows," Kelso said staring numbly at the TV. "We never do anything."</p>
<p>"I agree," said Donna. "Why don't we do something today? You know, something other than sitting around here until night comes and we realize we've wasted a day."</p>
<p>"Something like what?" Hyde asked. "We live in Point Place. There <em>is </em>nothing fun for us to do here."</p>
<p>"Hyde is right," Fez sighed sadly.</p>
<p>"Well I'm gonna head home," Donna said.</p>
<p>"Yeah, uh, I'm gonna...follow her." Forman got up and did as he said he would, trailing behind Donna like a puppy.</p>
<p>Fez sighed again. "There has to be something we can do. Like go to the pool! Let's go to the pool."</p>
<p>"Nah," Hyde vetoed. "Pool's too far, none of us have a car, and besides, you have to pay an entrance fee. Any of you got cash?"</p>
<p>Both Fez and Kelso shook their heads."I guess we can just watch another episode of Three's Company."</p>
<p>Hyde shrugged. Kelso turned up the volume. They sat there looking at the TV, not moving.</p>
<p>"You see," the angel snapped Hyde's attention back to him.</p>
<p>"After Jackie started hanging out with you guys, she's the one who forced all of you into getting out the house and doing things. And even paying for you to do things."</p>
<p>"That's bullcrap. I don't remember us being this bored before, ever, and we were friends long before Jackie came along."</p>
<p>"Really?" the angel challenged. "Do you really remember your life before Jackie all that well?"</p>
<p>Hyde tried to think about it without looking like he was thinking about it. Okay, so maybe he couldn't really remember a time when Jackie wasn't around, but that didn't change anything.</p>
<p>"Before Jackie came, you guys were used to and content with just doing this all day. But after Jackie is when you all realized there was a world outside this basement."</p>
<p>Hyde rolled his eyes. "Man, even if that was true-which it isn't-I wouldn't care. I would rather be bored out of mind than have to deal with Jackie every single day."</p>
<p>The angel smiled. "Oh, we'll see. This is just the start of it. Let's keep it moving."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Now they were standing outside Hyde's old house. He hated this place. But to get it over with, he reached forward to turn the doorknob just when it flew open. Hyde jumped backward, barely missing the younger version of himself storming out with a huge burlap sack hung behind his shoulder. His mouth felt dry all of a sudden. He'd seen this day in his dreams plenty of times. It was the day Red and Kitty had found out his mom split and taken him in.</p>
<p>"What the hell does this have to do with Jackie?" he asked through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>"Oh, well, <em>this </em>part doesn't really have anything to do with her. But what happens to you after...well I'll just show you."</p>
<p>Back in his room in the basement, Hyde could see himself bent over a piece of paper. He couldn't read what it said but he knew it couldn't be good. Dream Hyde crumpled it in his hand and threw it against the wall.</p>
<p>The Real Hyde wanted to leave. Clearly, this younger version of him was in a foul mood, and it was one of the moods he didn't like other people to see. And he knew this angel guy was only part of his subconscious, but he still felt him judging the way his fists curled in tightly, the way his jaw set to stop it from quivering, the way he looked so utterly defeated.</p>
<p>A faint memory started sparking up at the back of his mind, but he pushed it back. Instead he reached down to grab the piece of paper his dream-self had thrown. He read it then frowned. "I never got this letter."</p>
<p>It was a letter addressed to the Parents and/or Guardians of Mr. Steven Hyde, informing them that Hyde was being suspended <em>and</em> was being asked to repeat his sophomore year of high school.</p>
<p>"In this world, you did."</p>
<p>Hyde understood suddenly why his dream-self looked so upset. Not only would he have to spend an extra year in high school, a grade lower than all his best friends, but the letter also detailed why he was being suspended. For being caught smoking on campus. He would have to ask the Formans to sign it and once they read it...there would be no question. Hyde would be out and homeless for real this time.</p>
<p>"So I bet you're wondering how Jackie fits into any of this."</p>
<p>Hyde said nothing, staring straight ahead at the representation of his subconscious.</p>
<p>"Tell me, Hyde, do you remember what this night could have been? You know, had Jackie been part of your friend group?"</p>
<p>The memory he'd started to recall was taking on more shape in his head. He remembered a Saturday night when the gang hadn't really had any plans but to hang out. Fez was missing that night for reasons Hyde couldn't recall. But what he did remember was Jackie coming into the basement with a backpack slung over her shoulder and a determined look on her face.</p>
<p>"Since you all rejected my idea of going to the ballet tonight, I've found another way we can spend our time."</p>
<p>"What, listen to ABBA?" Forman inquired, not paying her much attention.</p>
<p>"No," she said curtly. "I noticed Michael's test grades the other day. They were horrifying, and when I asked him why, he said it was because he didn't have time to get his work done properly cause he spent all his time with you losers. And I was thinking, well that can't possibly be true, because half the time you losers spend doing absolutely nothing at all. But since you seem determined to be together 24/7, then part of that time can be spent doing homework."</p>
<p>Kelso looked like he'd seen a ghost. "You want us to do <em>homework</em>?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, man," Hyde agreed with Kelso's indignation. "Kelso's not failing cause he doesn't have the time. He's failing cause he's stupid."</p>
<p>"Yeah!" Kelso insisted, nodding vigorously.</p>
<p>"Oh, you will do your homework, Michael Kelso. I will not stand for dating a moron."</p>
<p>"Too late," Hyde muttered, but to his dismay, Kelso reached for his bag and pulled out a torn book.</p>
<p>"You know, that's not a terrible idea," Donna said thoughtfully from the couch.</p>
<p>"Not you too," Forman complained as Hyde groaned.</p>
<p>"What?" she asked innocently, "We're not doing anything right now, and I do have tons of work I should get a start on."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Donna."</p>
<p>"Well, you suckers have fun being lame. I'm gonna go do anything else."</p>
<p>"What, because your grades are perfect?" Jackie asked, challenging Hyde with a hand on her hips.</p>
<p>"Maybe," he countered.</p>
<p>"Oh please. You hardly do any work when you're actually at school. Don't expect me to believe you're pulling your weight at home too."</p>
<p>"Get bent," Hyde snapped as he retreated to his room.</p>
<p>Jackie shrugged and let it drop. She stayed outside and did homework with Kelso, Donna, and Forman. And much as he hated to admit it, he was bored as hell in his room, and he <em>did </em>have work to do. So that night he stayed in his room and did his homework without anyone knowing. But for several days after that Jackie would come to the basement declaring it 'homework time,' and before long, there were no complaints, and the entire gang would hang out and joke around while completing their school work.</p>
<p>"Crazy, huh?" the angel asked, yanking Hyde out of the memory. "Jackie pushed everyone to get a headstart on all their work. Maybe for the others it wouldn't have mattered, but after your mom left you started spiraling, and if it wasn't for her pushing all of you, you never would've gotten any work done. You started failing your classes, smoking out in the open at school, and boom. Here you are."</p>
<p>Hyde felt angry but he had no idea who to be angry with. He knew there was no way this could all be possible, but just the idea for it, played out so vividly in front of him, made him feel as bad as the Hyde in this fantasy.</p>
<p>"Whatever."</p>
<p>The angel smiled. "And there's more still."</p>
<hr/>
<p>This time he was in the basement alone, surrounded by beer cans and chips bags on the couch while he watched TV. He kept checking his watch, as if he were waiting for something, but the Real Hyde wasn't sure what.</p>
<p>Finally, after waiting for what felt like forever, Fez and Kelso scrambled through the door all dressed up. Fez was in a baby blue suit and Kelso in a white one.</p>
<p>"How was prom?" Dream Hyde asked, barely moving an inch. Real Hyde paled. Prom was one of his nicer memories with Jackie. But of course if Kelso had never gone out with her, he couldn't have cheated on her, which was the whole reason he'd gone in the first place.</p>
<p>He watched Kelso punch both his fists in the air and scream, "I NAILED JACKIE BURKHART!"</p>
<p>Kelso gave Fez a ginormous high-five, and Dream Hyde said, "I thought you went with Pam Macy."</p>
<p>"I did, but she was being a bitch all night and ditched me for some jock, so that sucked. But then I noticed Jackie looking all bored with her date and I started talkin' to her and being, you know, my charming self, and she totally fell for it!" He leaned forward and whispered loudly. "<em>And she was a virgin!</em>"</p>
<p>Dream Hyde grinned. "Nice, man. How was she?" Real Hyde scowled.</p>
<p>Kelso flexed his shoulders and cocked his chin. "She was alright. But me-I rocked her world. Man, you should've seen her face when I told her I wasn't looking for a serious relationship. She looked ready to cry her eyes out, and you know that kinda stuff makes me uncomfortable, so I got outta there fast."</p>
<p>"What the hell is this?" Real Hyde demanded, gesturing to the three assholes in the room. "Kelso and Jackie aren't supposed to get together. That was the wish, man!"</p>
<p>"Well, Hyde, your wish was for them to never <em>date. </em>Which they're not. And since they never dated, Jackie never made any real friends,like you, to take her to the prom, and none of you ever respected or cared for her enough to know not to talk about her like that. To you, she's just another Pam Macy."</p>
<p>"No, man, we talk about Pam Macy like that cause Pam Macy actually is a slut. Jackie's not easy, she's our-"</p>
<p>"Friend? Not in this world."</p>
<p>Hyde took a deep breath. "Whatever, man. So Kelso nailed Jackie and ran. She'll get over it. Her self-confidence is way too high anyway."</p>
<p>"I wouldn't be so sure." This guy was really starting to get on Hyde's nerves. "Many times when Jackie was sad it was you who talked reason into her. In this world, with no real friends and no one to depend on, Jackie's not quite the girl you know today. But you don't care about any of that, do you? Let's keep moving."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"All right, no way. Kelso never dated Jackie, which means he never cheated on her with Laurie, which means he never dates her! What's she doing down here?"</p>
<p>"Actually, because Kelso never dated Jackie, he and Laurie got together much quicker and stayed together much longer. She's part of your gang now."</p>
<p>This could not be happening, Real Hyde thought as he stared at the scene before him. As usual, they were in the basement, except Laurie was there with them, chatting harmlessly with Donna, as if they were friends.</p>
<p>Hyde was in his chair, Fez looked particularly glum, and Forman was nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>"What's with Fez?" Real Hyde asked.</p>
<p>"Oh, he just gets sadder as time passes. He has fun with the rest of you, I'm sure, but without Jackie he has no one to dress up with, to dance along to disco music with, or to go to the mall with him."</p>
<p>"Oh, so now Fez is depressed without Jackie? Just give him some candy and he'll brighten right back up."</p>
<p>"If you say so."</p>
<p>He looked up as he heard footsteps barreling down the stairs. "Hey, guys, I just finished my newest battleship model, it's so sick. You gotta come see."</p>
<p>"Pass," Dream Hyde said sounding bored.</p>
<p>"Yeah, me too," Kelso sighed, wrapping his arm around Laurie. "Hey, baby, what do you say we get out of here and go do it in my van?"</p>
<p>"Okay!" Laurie giggled, placing her hand in his and letting him lead her out the door. And good riddance.</p>
<p>"So no one wants to see my battleship?" Forman asked again, his voice softer and lighter and a little bit squeaky.</p>
<p>"No, Eric," Donna rolled her eyes and spoke with malice behind her tongue. "No one cares about your stupid models."</p>
<p>"What are you even doing here, Donna? This is <em>my </em>basement and since we're not together anymore...I banish you."</p>
<p>"You <em>banish </em>me?"</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, that's right. Be gone!"</p>
<p>"Screw you, you cat-killing pervert."</p>
<p>Eric made a face and rude gesture at her and stalked back up the stairs. Donna mumbled "Screw this" and left the basement angrily.</p>
<p>"Wait, what year is this?" Hyde asked. "Forman and Donna aren't supposed to break up for another...for a long time."</p>
<p>"Oh but here they break up much sooner. And they stay broken up, too."</p>
<p>"Cause of Jackie," Hyde deadpanned disbelievingly.</p>
<p>"Yes cause of Jackie. Jackie was Donna's first real girl friend. It gave Donna someone to talk to and reason with. If I recall correctly it was Jackie Donna went to after she and Eric shared their first kiss."</p>
<p>"That doesn't make any sense. Jackie hates Forman. If anything she would be pushing for Donna to break up with him."</p>
<p>The angel man sighed. "You really have no faith in Jackie, do you? Her getting back with Kelso get to you that badly?" Hyde glared at him. "I'm just saying! Jackie would never really try to break up Donna and Eric. She knows how much they love each other, and if Jackie believes in anything, it's love."</p>
<p>"Yeah," Hyde snorted. "Real love, fake love, what does it matter to her?"</p>
<p>The man smiled. "You'll see."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Hyde was much older in their next stop, and in a place he didn't recognize. Probably a slummy apartment, he'd guess. And-holy hell, "Am I having <em>sex</em>?"</p>
<p>"Oh, just you wait for it," the guy said excitedly.</p>
<p>Hyde looked on, slightly disgusted, slightly intrigued, as he bent over on the bed, finished, and then rolled over onto his back.</p>
<p>"Wow," the girl beside him squeaked.</p>
<p>"Yeah," was his only response.</p>
<p>She was blonde, leggy, and clearly not very important. Dream Hyde sighed routinely and said, "All right you can leave now."</p>
<p>The girl looked shocked and a little hurt, not that that seemed to faze him at all. "I was thinking that-"</p>
<p>Dream Hyde shook his head and cut her off. "Look," he pointed, "One pillow. For one person. Thanks for your services. I can pay ya if you want."</p>
<p>Her expression changed from shock to disbelief to anger. "<em>Pay </em>me? Oh, screw you, Hyde."</p>
<p>"Been there, done that."</p>
<p>He reached over onto the small bedside table next to him and grabbed a cigarette out of its pack. "So that's it. Is this how you treat all of your conquests?"</p>
<p>"Pretty much," he replied, his lips curling around the cigarette professionally. "Look, I don't got much money to buy you food or any other crap you might want, and I definitely don't like you enough for me to want you to stick around. Anything else you wanna know before you leave?"</p>
<p>She scoffed. "No, I think you've made yourself pretty clear." She roughly pulled on her clothes glaring at Hyde all the while. He seemed scarily zen, even for Real Hyde.</p>
<p>"Least I'm honest," he grinned at her.</p>
<p>"Wait, yeah, there is something else I'd like to know. Who hurt you?"</p>
<p>Dream Hyde laughed dryly. "No one hurt me. I'm naturally this charming."</p>
<p>"Uh-huh. Later, Hyde. Have a shitty life."</p>
<p>"Oh I will!" he yelled after her as she stormed out his door.</p>
<p>Real Hyde waited for the slumping of his shoulders, or the defeated sigh, or fit of anger, but nothing came. Dream Hyde simply sat there, unmoving, as if he hadn't just made himself look like the worst person on the planet. Maybe cause he really <em>was </em>the worst person on the planet.</p>
<p>"Whew. What a dick," his subconscious said to him.</p>
<p>"You gonna explain to me how this one is somehow connected to me meeting Jackie?"</p>
<p>"Nope. Not til you see the next one."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"So where are we now?"</p>
<p>"Your high school reunion. Let's see where all your pals are now, shall we?"</p>
<p>The man dressed in all white showed him Fez first, who apparently was now a one-man band, and the only form of entertainment Point Place High School could afford. His hair looked like it had grown a mind of his own, and he bent over the microphone as if his life depended on it, singing into it awfully. Not all that surprising if you asked him.</p>
<p>He saw Kelso next, who had three kids hanging off him like he was the newest set of monkey bars at the playground. And he was wearing a suit and tie. "Honey, would you <em>please </em>take Michael Jr. from me, he's gonna cut off my circulation," he was saying.</p>
<p>"Not now, Kelso, I'm busy!" Laurie snapped.</p>
<p>"Holy crap Kelso married Laurie," Hyde breathed.</p>
<p>"Yup. And that's not the worst of it."</p>
<p>They saw Forman next, who was trying and failing to spy on Donna without her noticing.</p>
<p>"Stop stalking me, you creep!" she screamed at him.</p>
<p>"Donna, I was just wondering-"</p>
<p>"Look, I haven't talked to you since the day you kicked me out of your basement for ending our unfortunate, short-lived relationship, all right? So do me a favour and keep it that way and <em>leave me alone.</em>"</p>
<p>"You mean to tell me Donna and Forman never get back together?"</p>
<p>"Nah. At least, not in this world. Sad, huh?"</p>
<p>Hyde shook his head.</p>
<p>"Fine. Be stubborn. Let's go see how Jackie's doing."</p>
<p>Jackie looked exactly like he would expect she would. She was dressed formally in a black dress and pearls, hair perfectly done in an updo, and hanging off the arm of some rich guy who probably had an inheritance the same value as this entire town. She was chatting with a girl he guessed had once been a cheerleader when something in the corner caught her eye.</p>
<p>Hyde watched her face turn upward in disgust, but she excused herself from both her man and the girl she was talking to and walked in the direction. Hyde followed her, and almost froze when he realized where she was headed.</p>
<p>There he was, Dream Hyde, looking as awful as he'd ever been. Beard overgrown, clothes faded and ratty, eyes hollow and dead. He was talking to this world's Forman.</p>
<p>"Hyde, man, how's it going? It's been a while. We haven't talked since-well, since you moved out."</p>
<p>Dream Hyde shrugged. "It's cool, man."</p>
<p>Just then Kelso showed up. "<em>Hyde? </em>It's great to see you man! What's up? Last I heard, you were in jail!"</p>
<p>He shrugged again. "Got out early."</p>
<p>Kelso nodded. "Nice."</p>
<p>"So, uh, what've you been doing?"</p>
<p>"Me? Oh, I'm a news anchor now. Isn't it awesome?"</p>
<p>"'S great."</p>
<p>"Crazy, huh?" Forman asked. "How our lives turned out?"</p>
<p>Dream Hyde shrugged. Real Hyde wanted to slap him.</p>
<p>Finally, Jackie reached them, and the trio looked up to the sound of her clearing her throat.</p>
<p>"<em>Jackie Burkhart?</em>" Kelso said sounding amazed. "Woah."</p>
<p>"Hello, boys," she smiled evilly. "Michael."</p>
<p>"You look great!"</p>
<p>"Thank you. I know. None of you do. Especially you," she sneered at Hyde. "You know," she continued, "In high school, I used to be really jealous of all you guys. I had this huge crush on Michael and I really wanted to be part of your friend group. I thought you were so cool. Thank God that never happened. Imagine how I would've turned out."</p>
<p>"So is that why you came here?" Dream Hyde asked. "To tell us that you're better than us?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, pretty much."</p>
<p>Dream Hyde glared at her as she walked away, his eyes vicious and nothing else.</p>
<p>Then they were back in his room.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"That's it?" Hyde demanded. "That's all you got? Man, all that's pretty much exactly how I expect life to go anyway. Forman's lame, Kelso knocked up a girl, Fez is weird, Donna's left us all behind, I'm a deadbeat. What was this whole trip supposed to do for me exactly?"</p>
<p>The man sighed. "You're so difficult. And stubborn. This is your life only without Jackie in it. Jackie's the first girl besides Donna that you care about, whether you want to admit it or not. And she's the first girl you've ever felt like you had to protect. <em>That's </em>why you're so mad at her. Cause she ran back to the thing that was hurting her when you tried so hard to get her not to. And without her, not only did you drop out of school, you never learned compassion and care. Instead you mistreat women and treat 'em like things to be used. You end up in jail. You live a loveless life. No girlfriend, no money. Nothing."</p>
<p>Hyde thought his head would explode. Maybe he could die in his sleep and this headache would finally ease. Or maybe this wasn't a dream and he had already died and this was hell.</p>
<p>"How's Jackie stayin' in this friend group gonna change that? Huh? What's Jackie ever gonna do for me?"</p>
<p>The man smiled again. "I'm not allowed to tell you that. Big Guy upstairs says it's a big no-no. But I'd suggest you wait around and see."</p>
<p>Hyde lay down on his bed and closed his eyes for what would hopefully be the last time. "Whatever, man. Jackie, no Jackie. Makes no difference to me. Just leave me alone and let me sleep in peace."</p>
<p>He didn't wake until noon the next day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, one of my favourite things to think about is Hyde during season 4. Or Hyde post Jackie Bags Hyde. I HATE that we get nothing real from canon until season 5. Like, what is he feeling/thinking? I think it's far-fetched to assume he was secretly pining after her. Hyde has way too much self-denial for that. But he obviously doesn't hate her. I know it's just me overthinking, but their relationship during this time is, like, crucial. And so intricate. They're in limbo between the date and pretending to hate each other and her getting back with Michael definitely screwed things up.</p>
<p>So as I'm beginning to delve into season 4, I'm trying really hard to capture what I think would be the most realistic for Jackie and Hyde during these times without straying from what happened in the show.</p>
<p>I thought it would be fun to start with something kind of different. To put a twist on the first episode of season 4. I tried. I hope it's believable (or as believable as it needs to be for T70S). I'm not completely happy with it, and I've been sitting on it for a couple days, changing some details, going back and forth. But it's been a while and I haven't changed anything major, so for now, this is the best I've got. Your feedback/comments are super appreciated (as always). I hope I did this concept justice and it was a fun read.</p>
<p>Til next time. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Funland</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jackie stood on the points of her toes, neck craned to scan the never-ending crowd. "This is useless," she groaned, slamming back down on her heels. "We're never going to find him." With a huge pout she sank down onto a nearby bench and lamented, "Today was supposed to be fun."</p>
<p>"We can't <em>not</em> have fun in Funland," Fez said just as sadly.</p>
<p>"You know what?" Hyde said, rolling his eyes at his friends. "Kelso's probably around here somewhere having the time of his life. I say we go ahead and do the same damn thing."</p>
<p>"Without Kelso?" Fez asked worriedly.</p>
<p>"Yes without Kelso," he deadpanned. "What are you, married? Can't do nothin' without your stupid-partner holdin' your hand?"</p>
<p>Fez scowled. "You do not have to be so mean about it." He paused for a beat. "Okay. I'm in."</p>
<p>"Fez!" Jackie protested.</p>
<p>"What?" Fez threw his hands in the air. "This place has games and candy and I have needs, woman!"</p>
<p>"I knew you'd come around," Hyde slapped his arm around Fez's shoulder.</p>
<p>"Fine," Jackie stood, sticking her nose in the air proudly. "But just one game, then we keep looking for Michael."</p>
<p>Hyde and Fez ignored her, leading the way with new bounce in their strides. She knew her words were meaningless - there was no way those two would only play one game or go on only one ride, but she said them anyway. Plausible deniability.</p>
<p>"Where are we going first?" she asked, staying right on their heels.</p>
<p>Hyde glanced at Fez. "To any stand that has cool free stuff. Fez tries to win, and when he inevitably loses cause all the games are rigged, I'll have already stolen whatever I want."</p>
<p>"Ooh, I like that one!" she piped up, pointing to a stand that showcased a bunch of pink and white cuddly stuffed animals, and completely ignoring Hyde's plan to steal. She was used to it by now.</p>
<p>"Yeah, no," Hyde dismissed immediately.</p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Jackie's pout returned to her face, but she gave it up soon. None of them were paying her enough attention to care that she looked upset. So she followed them without much more complaints. At least until she saw where they were leading her.</p>
<p>"Oh no way," she stopped in her tracks. "I am not going in one of those?"</p>
<p>"Why not?" Fez asked.</p>
<p>"They're dirty. And they'll mess up my hair and make it get all crazy," she whined, glaring at the set of bumper cars as if they wronged her personally.</p>
<p>"All right," Hyde shrugged. She looked to him hopefully. "Well, you stay here. Fez and I will be back."</p>
<p>Her smile dropped. "No no no, you can't just leave me here."</p>
<p>"Why not?"</p>
<p>"Because! I'm a young, beautiful girl. There's no telling what could happen. I could get kidnapped!"</p>
<p>"Don't get my hopes up."</p>
<p>"Hyde!"</p>
<p>"All right, look. All in favour of going on the bumper cars?" He and Fez raised their hands simultaneously, then he shrugged. "Majority wins. You can come with us or stay here. Your choice."</p>
<p>They both looked at her expectantly, waiting for her response, and she squirmed under their gazes. "...Do I have to drive my own?"</p>
<p>He shook his head. "You can come with one of us."</p>
<p>"Well - fine. But you owe me!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, whatever," Hyde rolled his eyes and stepped forward in line.</p>
<p>"Kelso's going to be so sad he missed out on bumper cars," Fez said wistfully. "I can't wait to rub it in his face!"</p>
<p>Jackie ignored him and tried her best to sulk, but it was hard when Fez was too excited to care and Hyde...well he never cared. She missed Michael. Usually it only took a couple pouts, some fake tears, and a fight or two for her to get what she wanted. With these two she couldn't even make it past step 1.</p>
<p>Finally they made it to the front of the line, and she heard Hyde ask for 2 bumper cars. "All right, Jackie, you're with Fez," Hyde indicated. "Try not to die."</p>
<p>"Woah, woah, wait, I can't go with Fez!"</p>
<p>"Why?" Fez exclaimed.</p>
<p>"He doesn't know how to drive! He's a foreigner!"</p>
<p>Hyde glared at her disbelievingly, as if what she was saying was so out of the question. It wasn't - Fez really couldn't drive. "Jackie, it's - you know what? Whatever. Fine come with me."</p>
<p>"Yeah I don't want you in my car anyway!" Fez called after her. "All you would do is mess me up and...who am I kidding? I do suck."</p>
<p>"Get in and put on the seatbelt," Hyde practically shoved her in.</p>
<p>"Okay, okay, relax," she chastised, settling into the cramped space.</p>
<p>As soon as she was settled Hyde crowded in next to her, filling up all the remaining space. "How does this even work?"she asked him, making a face at the sight of two preteens making out in one of the cars. Gross.</p>
<p>"Have you never been in a bumper car before?" Hyde asked flatly, glancing down at her.</p>
<p>"Of course not," she exclaimed. "I told you, they're filthy, and not at all ladylike."</p>
<p>"Yet here you are."</p>
<p>"Well, you're not very ladylike either, but I didn't have much of a choice did I?"</p>
<p>"Could've stayed and waited," he grumbled under his breath, but she didn't get a chance to answer because all of a sudden there were a series of loud squeaking noises and squeals and they were moving.</p>
<p>"Oh my God!" she shrieked as she felt them slam into a car ahead of them.</p>
<p>"Take that, bozos!" Hyde taunted at the people in the car they bumped into. "And keep your tongues to yourselves, it's disgusting." A small smile came to her face as she realized he went straight for the couple that was making out earlier.</p>
<p>"There, Fez, look!" Jackie sputtered pointing to her friend who was being throttled by two cars from either side.</p>
<p>"Got him," Hyde grinned evilly.</p>
<p>Jackie was watching Fez's car get closer so intently that she didn't even notice when another one came from her side and throttled right into her side, sending her careening into Hyde. She screamed a high-pitch squeak; Hyde shook her off of him. "You okay?" he asked, not sounding particularly concerned.</p>
<p>Again, Jackie couldn't answer. She was too busy laughing. "That was kind of fun," she giggled.</p>
<p>Hyde glanced at her bemused before he continued his journey to Fez, knocking aside some others in the process. And she knew she must've looked ridiculous laughing like a hyena in the seat next to Hyde, but she couldn't help it. <em>She </em>was in a bumper car, in public, seated next to Point Place High's most notorious rebel. If her mother could see her...God, that would be hilarious.</p>
<p>She giggled the whole way, til all the cars came to an eventual stop and she was laughing so hard Hyde had to unbuckle the seatbelt for her and Fez had to half-carry her out of the car.</p>
<p>"Jesus," Hyde said once they were safely out of sight of the bumper cars. "You don't laugh that much when you're high."</p>
<p>"I know!" She was still in spirits too high to care that he was teasing her. "That was just so much fun. Where are we going next? Oh, can we go to Fairytopia?"</p>
<p>"Definitely not. Fez, where you wanna go, man?"</p>
<p>They both turned to look to Fez for his answer but..."Fez?"</p>
<p>"Fez!"</p>
<p>"Where'd he go?"</p>
<p>"Hell if I know. Fez, you stupid little kid, come out, this ain't funny!"</p>
<p>Fez didn't come out. "How did we manage to lose <em>two </em>of our friends in one day?" Jackie asked, whirling in a full circle still looking for Fez.</p>
<p>"Nah, man. We didn't lose them. <em>They</em> got lost. Cause they're morons."</p>
<p>"So...what do we do now? Go look for them?"</p>
<p>Hyde was staring down at her apprehensively, looking like he was raging a battle in his head. And she knew why - he had to choose between wasting an entire day at Funland or spending it with her. Jackie rolled her eyes. Hyde could be such a drama queen. She wasn't <em>that </em>bad to have as company. Besides, they'd hung out before. Just because he seemed to go through different phases of deciding whether or not he actually liked her didn't change any of that.</p>
<p>Whatever, she would make the choice for him. "Come on," she said, grabbing his elbow tightly. "You can win me a tiara."</p>
<p>"No way," he refused, though he walked along with her. "I'm not 'winning' anything. No one ever wins anything. All these games here are set up to take your money."</p>
<p>"Hyde, I'm not leaving here without a tiara."</p>
<p>"Oh, I'll get you your tiara. I'll just do it <em>my </em>way."</p>
<p>"Nuh-uh," Jackie shook her head. "If you get caught and go to jail, then I'll be here all alone. And I'll have no tiara. And you drove here - how will I get home?"</p>
<p>"Really, Jackie, don't worry about me. I'll be fine behind bars, it's you you should be worried about."</p>
<p>Exasperated, Jackie sighed. "It's not my fault you were cut out for the tough life. I was born pretty and rich - people are supposed to take care of me."</p>
<p>Hyde rubbed the side of his head as if what she was saying was giving him a headache. "Man, here I was thinking Kelso was the stupidest one in the group. But the crap that comes out of your mouth..."</p>
<p>"Well, it's true," Jackie defended. "My mother never had to work a day in her life. And look at her now, gorgeous and popular as ever. She's always going to these fancy parties all over the world. That's what life is gonna be like for me. Getting dressed up and going to balls...oh, and maybe I can have my own TV show."</p>
<p>"You know what?" Hyde interrupted her. "Fine. Win your own tiara. Not like I care."</p>
<p>"But I thought you-"</p>
<p>"You want it, you win it."</p>
<p>He marched over to the counter and held up his finger. "One chance," he said to the attendant, and then turned to her. "And pay for it yourself too."</p>
<p>Why did he have to be so grumpy about everything? He was taking the fun out of Funland. Jackie stuck her tongue out at him and paid for the game. She was given 5 darts and had to pop at least 2 balloons to win something, but 5 to win the tiara.</p>
<p>She smiled nervously at the attendant watching her expectantly. "First time," she explained. "Usually people win these things for me, but that jerk over there doesn't have common courtesy."</p>
<p>The guy smiled at her. "You'll do fine." He leaned in across the counter and whispered jokingly, "Just pretend you're aiming at his face."</p>
<p>Jackie grinned. "That might work!"</p>
<p>Picking up the first dart, she pulled her hand back and launched it at the set of balloons. It bounced right off. Jackie frowned. Hyde folded his arms and leaned against the booth. Slightly annoyed, she picked up the next one and tried again - that one went straight over the entire thing. Within seconds all her darts were gone, and so was her good mood.</p>
<p>"Better luck next time," the attendant smiled at her softly. "Wanna try again?"</p>
<p>"No," she said, rolling her eyes. "All these dumb games are rigged anyway."</p>
<p>"Told ya," Hyde sang, looking smug as ever.</p>
<p>"Oh, shut up," she snapped, storming past him and starting to walk past the booth. "You're nothing but a mannerless pothead who- Ah!" All of a sudden she was pushed off balance and stumbled over a pyramid of stuffed animals and other toys.</p>
<p>"Hey, man, that's not cool," she heard the attendant berate Hyde, who had just shoved her sideways, sending her careening sideways into the booth.</p>
<p>"<em>Hyde!</em>" she shrieked. "What the hell?"</p>
<p>"Learn when to shut your trap," he said, but walked into the booth and held out a hand.</p>
<p>"Don't touch me!" she slapped his hand away.</p>
<p>"Jackie, don't be a-"</p>
<p>"Hey, I got her, man," the attendant said, pushing Hyde aside and helping her up. "You okay?" he asked, once she was standing upright.</p>
<p>"Yeah," she grumbled under her breath. "Fine."</p>
<p>"You sure you wanna stay with that guy? You can always hang out here."</p>
<p>"No," she shook her head, not in the mood to explain herself. "I'm just gonna go find my other friends. Thank you, though."</p>
<p>"Sure. No problem."</p>
<p>Jackie gave him one last small smile before stalking past Hyde angrily. She knew he was a jerk, but shoving her hard enough to fall was <em>way </em>too big of an overreaction. That was humiliating.</p>
<p>"Jackie," he called after her tiredly.</p>
<p>"Shut up!"</p>
<p>"Slow down!"</p>
<p>"No!"</p>
<p>"Jackie!"</p>
<p>"Leave me alone!"</p>
<p>She sped up some more, weaving in between throngs of people. Maybe if she checked all the candy booths she would find Fez at one of them. Or Michael. She should've known not to go out in public with these losers without Donna. What a disaster. She stopped and whirled around to scream at Hyde for being the biggest, most inconsiderate idiot she knew, but he wasn't there.</p>
<p>"Hyde?" she yelled, but no one answered her.</p>
<p>Great. Now <em>she </em>had gotten lost. This was the worst day ever. "Excuse me," she asked, tapping on a passing woman's shoulder. "Do you know what time it is?"</p>
<p>Wrong question. A sickening, rumbling voice popped up out of nowhere. "Diiiid somebody ask what time it is?" Woofy the Funland Dog was towering over her. "Oh, it's you again! Well <em>hello </em>there, pretty lady."</p>
<p>"Ew, get away from me, you...you...dog!" She backed away holding her arms up between them.</p>
<p>Woofy studied her surroundings. "Where are all your friends? Surely they didn't leave you all alone!" Jackie blinked but didn't say anything. "Oh, you poor thing. Why don't you come here? Let Woofy take care of you."</p>
<p>He stepped closer and went to put an arm around her. "I said don't touch me, you creep!" she screeched.</p>
<p>"Hey!" A voice came from behind her. "You try to touch her again I'm gonna rip one of those big wacky ears off and hit you with it! Now go, fetch!"</p>
<p>Hyde faked a charge at the creepy man and sent him skitting away. Once he was out of their sight Hyde spun around to glare at her. He raised his voice several octaves as he started to mock her, "<em>You can't leave me alone, I'm a girl, I'll get kidnapped, </em>and you still run away like a five-year-old kid!"</p>
<p>"I lost you for like ten seconds!"</p>
<p>"And almost got whisked away by Woofy the Jackie-Obsessed Dog!"</p>
<p>"Well I wouldn't have wanted to get away from you if you didn't <em>push me into a booth</em>."</p>
<p>"Because I was gettin' this, you moron!" He thrust a sparkly plastic tiara in her face.</p>
<p>Jackie's jaw went slack. "You stole me a tiara?"</p>
<p>"You're welcome!"</p>
<p>"Hyde!" she yelled, her voice still stern and shrill. "That is so sweet! Why didn't you just tell me?!"</p>
<p>"I didn't do it for you! I did it to stick it to all the money-hungry businessmen that run this place!"</p>
<p>"Would you quit yelling! You're ruining it!"</p>
<p>"You quit it first! Scream it a little louder and we'll both get arrested!"</p>
<p>"Fine." Jackie lowered her tone and took a deep breath. "You couldn't think of any other way to steal a tiara without pushing me into a pyramid of stuffed toys?"</p>
<p>"Course I could. I just wanted it to be fun for me, too."</p>
<p>Jackie rolled her eyes. "Well thank you."</p>
<p>"Whatever."</p>
<p>Still wearing a stubborn expression, Jackie put the tiara on her head. "How does it look?"</p>
<p>"Crooked."</p>
<p>"I'm being serious!"</p>
<p>"So am I. Here," he lifted his hands and settled the tiara better on top of her head.</p>
<p>"So where do we go next?" she asked, once again excited.</p>
<p>"Next? I've gotten enough of you to last me a lifetime. I say we search til we find at least one of those doofuses and then leave."</p>
<p>"I'll distract people while you steal stuff," she persuaded.</p>
<p>"You will?"</p>
<p>"As long as some of the stuff is for me. And by some I mean most."</p>
<p>Hyde visibly battled with himself, then finally settled on, "Fine. But you're buying lunch."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"I stole it, I'm eating it."</p>
<p>"But, Hyde, it's ginormous."</p>
<p>"I don't care."</p>
<p>"We can share!"</p>
<p>"Hands off my lollipop!"</p>
<p>"Fez!"</p>
<p>"Fez?"</p>
<p>"There! Look!"</p>
<p>Hyde turned around to see their friend skipping around wearing a Woofy hat and dog ears and "Is that face paint?"</p>
<p>"Come on!" Rushing forward, Jackie skipped and ducked under people until she caught up to Fez. "Fez!" she screamed.</p>
<p>"Jackie! I thought I lost you, I was so worried."</p>
<p>"Were you now?" Hyde asked doubtfully, gesturing to Fez's new accessories. "Cause I think you were off having fun without us."</p>
<p>Fez looked guilty and ashamed for being called out. "Yes, well <em>clearly</em> you were too. As an apology, you should give Fez that lollipop."</p>
<p>"Don't touch the lollipop!"</p>
<p>"Ow! Jackie, why is your tiara crooked?"</p>
<p>"Crooked? What? Hyde!"</p>
<p>Hyde grinned widely. "Yeah. It was straight the first time."</p>
<p>"Fezzy, fix it," she pouted, trotting over to him.</p>
<p>He did as he was told then patted her shoulder. "All done, Your Highness."</p>
<p>"Wait, so Fez, you haven't seen Michael all day either?" Fez shook his head and sat down along a garden ledge. "Where could he <em>be</em>?" Jackie exclaimed, worried and frustrated.</p>
<p>"He'll come around," Hyde said, not sounding worried at all, following suit.</p>
<p>"I can't believe you two," Jackie scolded after settling herself down too. "Poor Michael's lost and all you've done is gone on rides and have fun - oh my God. Oh my God, the Funland Princess!"</p>
<p>She got up and took after the Princess at high speed, leaving her friends in the dust.</p>
<p>"The Funland Princess," Hyde said suggestively to Fez. "I haven't been on that ride yet." They smiled knowingly at each other and stood up. "We better hurry," Hyde told him as they walked away. "Jackie might get lost again, and I've avoided jail time for this long, I ain't going for killing a man who wears a dog costume for fun."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>HI. So I have a couple things to say. First &amp; foremost: I know this is the longest I've gone so far without updating &amp; I know this isn't my best work. I had an idea for how this can go in my head and it went way, way differently on paper. I just had a hard time writing this chapter. I almost scrapped the whole thing and started over completely with a different episode and different story, but I had no other ideas yet and I didn't wanna keep people waiting longer. So I'm sorry about that.</p>
<p>Also, as some of you have seen already, I did start a new story a couple days ago, which is also the reason this chapter is up later than usual. If you haven't seen, the story takes place over the summer Hyde and Jackie got together and just goes into my personal version of events/what I think happened/how their relationship formed and developed. I am so excited about it, you guys. It's my first actual story that has a real plotline of events that I made up and that I'm in charge of. It does fall in line with canon, but having an entire summer to work with allows for sooo many ideas and possibilities. The first two chapters are up, so if you're interested in reading that, check it out! (And leave feedback, I haven't done anything like this in a while)</p>
<p>&amp; if you're wondering - no, I'm not going to stop working on this to work on that. I'm basically writing for both simultaneously. Originally I wanted to wait till I completed this, but as I've said before, this started off as a set of one-shots and so there's no real outline I have to follow or storyline that I've created. I'm basically coming up with ideas as I go along. Which is also really fun! Don't get me wrong, I'm having a LOT of fun writing pre-relationship Jackie &amp; Hyde. But once I created the outline for Summer Lovin' I was too excited to work on anything else and I had to see where my ideas would take me. And I liked it! So I'm doing both, because I want to, and at the end of the day I'm doing this to give myself a creative outlet and have some fun. I don't want to ever consider this 'work.' Sooo updates may be a little slower than the 3-5 days I was generally taking, but they won't stop.</p>
<p>Anyway I've made this long enough but I just wanted to explain myself and also plug my other story lol. As always, thank you so so much for reading. -M</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Parents Shouldn't Abandon Their Kids</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jackie was passing the alley by the Hub when she heard a loud crash and a yell. She nearly jumped out of her skin and started walking faster, wanting to pass whatever or whoever was in that alley as quickly as possible. But curiosity getting the best of her, she eyed the corner to see what was happening. Maybe she'd get a good story out of this to tell the others.</p>
<p>But as she got closer, her heart stopped beating out of nervousness and fear; her curiosity drained out of her and turned into exasperation. It was just Hyde. He was sitting at the back of his El Camino, doing his angry stare, his shoulders and jaw all tense. A trash can lay toppled over on the ground below him.</p>
<p>"Hyde, what are you doing here?" she asked, marching up to him. As far as she was concerned, they were all supposed to be meeting at the basement to go see a movie at the drive-through. A scary movie, which was never Jackie's preference, but it usually meant cuddling up to Michael and him paying a lot of attention to her so it paid off in the end.</p>
<p>Hyde's look hardened when he saw her. "Sitting," he said with a dead voice. "The hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the Formans?"</p>
<p>Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you?"</p>
<p>"Not goin.'"</p>
<p>"Why, cause you're so busy?"</p>
<p>"Yup."</p>
<p>"Uh-huh. Doing what exactly?"</p>
<p>Hyde met her gaze defiantly. "Waiting for a kid to walk out that door so I can jump him and take his food."</p>
<p>"Charming."</p>
<p>He didn't answer; he simply moved his gaze away from her and glared straight ahead, as if hoping she would get enough and walk away.</p>
<p>"Why?" she prompted. It had been Hyde's idea to watch the stupid movie. It wasn't like him to ditch it. Not completely, anyway. It was clear <em>something </em>was wrong.</p>
<p>"Cause I feel like, Jackie. Now leave me alone."</p>
<p>Jackie sighed and uncrossed her arms. Part of her wanted to leave him right here in his bad mood to become someone else's problem. But it had been in this same alley he lied for her once and got arrested for something that was her fault. It was only fair that she tried to help him. Holding up a finger for him to wait there, Jackie wordlessly walked through the back door of the Hub.</p>
<p>Inside was almost empty, a weird sight for a Saturday night. She ordered a large burger and fries and cherry pop, waited an unreasonable amount of time, then collected the food and paid with a $20. When she got the change, she put that into the paper bag too. Then she went back outside and shoved the bag at Hyde. "Here."</p>
<p>In the same spot she left him, he turned to look at her puzzled.</p>
<p>"I know you're used to getting something else in paper bags, but this is better for you. Marginally."</p>
<p>"I don't need this," he said, shoving the bag away.</p>
<p>"Yeah? Well, in there is practically empty so if you're waiting for someone to come out with a full meal, I'm afraid you're gonna be fresh out of luck."</p>
<p>Hyde's jaw tightened and he looked even angrier than before. As if she wasn't trying to help him out. He was so ungrateful. But he must have been hungry, because he let the issue go, reached into the bag, and chomped on a fry.</p>
<p>Jackie let some tension out of her body. This was progress. Pushing the bag between them, Jackie hoisted herself onto the back of the El Camino too, and swung her legs carelessly. "So are you gonna tell me what's going on with you?" she asked. "Why're you moping around out here instead of doing it in the basement? And why in God's name are you scrounging around for food instead of eating at home? I mean, I know you're poor, Hyde, but you're not that poor."</p>
<p>"Maybe I am," he said, offering her a fry.</p>
<p>She took one and swallowed before saying, "You got <em>more </em>poor? How?" She waved another fry at him. "Steven Hyde, did you spend all your money on drugs?"</p>
<p>He shook his head. "Rent," he garbles out, his mouth still full of a bite of the burger.</p>
<p>Gulping down her disgust at his terrible table manners, Jackie asked, "But I don't understand, I thought your dad was doing okay at that bar he works at."</p>
<p>He didn't answer at first, this time chewing and swallowing completely before he opened his mouth. He took a sip of his cherry pop, then handed it to her, silently offering her some. She grabbed it and took a sip, but didn't say a word, waiting for him to talk first.</p>
<p>"He did." He yanked the cup of soda back from her and drank again. "He's gone now though."</p>
<p>Jackie frowned, her eyebrows crinkling together. "What do you mean gone?"</p>
<p>"Well, my mom came back a couple days back."</p>
<p>"She <em>what</em>?" It had been so long since Jackie had heard of Hyde's mom she almost forgot she existed. "When? How? Why? Was she living with you-"</p>
<p>"Don't know why," he shrugged. "Came back, crashed with us for a few days, then I guess she convinced Bud that anywhere that's not Point Place is paradise, cause they both split."</p>
<p>"Steven-"</p>
<p>"Didn't leave no food or rent money. Took all I had plus my stash to pay it off and break the lease. Guess I gotta move back in with the Formans now. Probably shouldn't have left in the first place."</p>
<p>She placed a placating hand on his shoulder. "Oh, St-"</p>
<p>"Don't pity me, I'll be fine," he shook his hand off of her. "Nothing I haven't dealt with before."</p>
<p>"Still," she said, biting her lip. "Parents shouldn't abandon their kid, no matter how poor they are."</p>
<p>Hyde smirked. "Guess they didn't get the memo."</p>
<p>"What did the Formans say?"</p>
<p>"Haven't told 'em. I'm planning on moving back in and hoping they don't notice."</p>
<p>"That might actually work. You know," Jackie said, stealing back the soda. "My parents aren't all that great all the time either. And <em>they're</em> rich."</p>
<p>Hyde chuckled dryly. "I know. That's why I'm telling you all this. But if you tell anyone, I swear to-"</p>
<p>"I won't," she promised him. "But they'll probably find out. One way or another. Probably when they realize you've moved back in." He ignored this and took another bite of his burger. "Well I'll help you then," she spoke up again, attempting to kill the silence.</p>
<p>"Help me what?" he asked, looking at her questioningly.</p>
<p>"Help you move," she said simply. "Right now. Let's go. Wait, no, finish your food first. Can I have another fry?"</p>
<p>He handed her a fry. "Aren't you going to the movie?"</p>
<p>Jackie blinked. "Well what time is it?"</p>
<p>Hyde checked his watch and his shoulders slumped. "8:30. Damn it."</p>
<p>Jackie shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I'm too late anyway. I've got time."</p>
<p>The gang had come up with a rule for when they had scheduled plans like this. It went: You Snooze, You Lose. Didn't matter who you were or what excuses you had, if you were late, you got left behind. Sometimes they waited an extra five minutes, but after Jackie had once taken an additional thirty minutes to get dressed and caused everyone to miss the premiere of <em>Freaky Friday, </em>the rule had been set in stone.</p>
<p>Hyde studied her more intently, trying to figure out her intentions. Finally, he slumped his shoulders and rolled his head back. "What the hell. Fine. Let's go."</p>
<hr/>
<p>She yapped the entire way there, sometimes about nonsense things like shoes and nail polish, sometimes about annoying crap like Kelso, and sometimes she tried to get him to pour out his soul and share his deepest darkest secrets. All in the five minute drive.</p>
<p>Letting his anger subside had been a conscious thing. He'd done it because he knew Jackie didn't deserve the backlash of what would come from his parents leaving. Plus, she bought him food. But it was still there, bubbling under the surface, threatening to spill out in screams and punches and curses and breaking things. But you didn't do all that crap in front of people. Especially not people who just bought you your first meal since yesterday. He'd been starving when Jackie found him, and let his gratitude show by not biting cruel words at her until she got sick of him and left.</p>
<p>But said gratitude was slowly but surely withering out to contempt and annoyance. She did not know how to shut up and sit still. Hyde had to bite his tongue to stop himself from snapping at her. <em>You're not angry at her, </em>he reminded himself on loop in his head.</p>
<p>He was angry at himself for being the biggest dumbass on the planet. He'd known for about as long as he can remember that his parents were complete deadbeats. Growing up, his only consistent food groups had been canned foods and chips, and he probably had more beer in his childhood than he did water. Sometimes when Bud and Edna had people over he would have to hide for hours at a time so as not to interrupt them or give any of their friends the 'wrong idea.' Hyde had been a sorry mistake from the moment he was born and they never failed to treat him like it.</p>
<p>So why in God's name did he think it would be a good idea to move back in with Bud? What possessed him to believe he could have ever changed to be a decent adult, if not father figure? What, did he think now that he was older and wiser he'd be able to prove he wasn't a complete waste of space? Yeah right. And when Edna showed up at their door three days ago? He had been the idiot to offer her a place to crash. He was the one who told her he was making decent money now that he wasn't giving the Formans most of his pay.</p>
<p><em>Atta boy, </em>she had said. <em>You see, l</em><em>eaving's the best thing I could've done for you.</em></p>
<p>Maybe that was what she told Bud. That if they left together it would be best for him. He'd never know. All he knew was that when he got home last night the already-bare apartment was stripped of almost everything, including all the scraps of food they had in the fridge. There had been no note. Only a case of 24 beers, two missing, on the kitchen counter.</p>
<p>He hadn't been sure when exactly they left, so like a desperate idiot he'd raced to all their favourite bars and clubs in town. But they were long gone of course. As he should have expected. If your parents run out on you once, they will do it again. If you let them. And Hyde had let them. It never would have happened if he used his head and never gave them a second chance in the first place. Abandoned twice by the same two people. His life was a joke.</p>
<p>"Hyde, are you even listening to me?" an obnoxious voice croaked in his ear.</p>
<p>"No," he said, turning hard into the shabby parking lot. He turned off the engine abruptly and stared at the apartment complex he'd called home for the last couple months. "We're here."</p>
<p>He got out the car without waiting for her and started striding up the steps. The landlord had given him til the end of the week to move, but he didn't want to spend another night in this place.</p>
<p>"It's a good thing you're leaving this place anyway," Jackie was saying from behind him. "It's ugly and it's cold. Doesn't suit you at all. The basement was much more your style, all cluttered and messy and warm. Don't you think?"</p>
<p>"Sure," he mumbled, only half listening to her.</p>
<p>Arriving at the door, he stuck the key in and pushed it open. He walked straight into the darkness, leaving Jackie to turn on the light after him. His eyes adjusting to the light, he glared at the case of beers on the counter. It lay untouched, still holding 22 beers.</p>
<p>"Did they leave that?" Jackie asked, her voice louder and echoing around the small place.</p>
<p>Hyde nodded once. "Parting gift."</p>
<p>"What did they say when they left?"</p>
<p>"Nothin' important." He dismissed her by walking out of the kitchen and into his room. It wasn't like he had a ton of stuff, but he did <em>live </em>there. And he didn't know where to start.</p>
<p>"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, pulling up to his side.</p>
<p>"Nope."</p>
<p>She looked up at him. "I think you should talk about it."</p>
<p>"That's because you don't understand the concept of not talking."</p>
<p>"Fine." She brushed past him and picked up his rucksack from the corner. "Is this the only bag you have?"</p>
<p>"Yep."</p>
<p>"You're going to need more than this bag."</p>
<p>"That's what I got."</p>
<p>She sighed. "Whatever." She dragged the bag to the opposite end of the wall where a clearly old and rotting wooden dresser sat. Opening the first drawer, she started picking clothes out, refolding them and placing them neatly in the bag.</p>
<p>"Hey, don't touch my clothes!" he protested once he realized what she was doing.</p>
<p>"Believe me," she said, turning to face him with a pair of boxers swinging from her fingers. "I don't want to be touching your underwear."</p>
<p>He scowled and crossed the room to her. "Well then don't," he snapped, yanking it out of her hands. "Go do something else."</p>
<p>"Okay, okay," she said, rolling her eyes, and mumbling under her breath. "Just trying to help."</p>
<p>Hyde took a deep breath as he took her spot and started pushing his clothes much less neatly into the bag. He knew she was. But he wished she could do it without talking or getting under his skin. She had an unmatched skill of making him want to throttle things.</p>
<p>"You know," she started again, and he whirled to give her a hard glare, but she wasn't looking at him. Her back was turned, bent over something busily. He turned back around. "I haven't seen my mom in a couple weeks." Hyde didn't answer; he wasn't sure if she was finished or not. "Well, a little more than two weeks actually. She went to Panama for a weekend getaway but she still hasn't come back. I mean, she calls every now and then, and there's a huge fundraiser at the country club next week, so I'm sure she'll be back, so I guess...nevermind, I guess it's not really the same."</p>
<p>"You miss her?" He glanced back. Her back was still turned, though she stopped moving.</p>
<p>"Sometimes I guess. But I know she'll be back. She always comes back."</p>
<p>"And your dad?"</p>
<p>"Oh, he's in and out. He's home at the end of the day, most days, but he's always working, so he doesn't have that much time to talk to me."</p>
<p>Hyde shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "Parents shouldn't abandon their kid," he said. "No matter how rich they are."</p>
<p>She turned around then and he noticed she stacked all his records and then stuffed as many as would fit into a pillowcase. Huh. Resourceful. "They didn't say anything, did they?" she asked him. "They didn't tell you they were leaving."</p>
<p>Hyde caught her gaze and got stuck there staring at her. He didn't know how the hell she figured it out. He guessed it probably wasn't that far of a reach. He could always lie.</p>
<p>But she didn't look venomous right now - like she would pocket the information and use it later on. So he admitted, "Came home last night and everything was gone."</p>
<p>"They suck." She offered him a small smile. He didn't return it.</p>
<p>"Yeah. They do."</p>
<p>"For what it's worth, I don't think it had anything to do with you. You don't suck."</p>
<p>The words sucked the anger out of him like a vacuum. She was so good with them. With words. She knew how to say exactly how she felt and what she thought without second-guessing it. The words were always right there, on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be released. His words never made it past his throat.</p>
<p>He balled up the t-shirt in his hand and threw it at her. "Shut it, Jackie." There was no anger behind his words.</p>
<p>Looking proud of herself, Jackie turned back around and continued piling records and stacking the few books he owned and bunching up his few belongings together. They worked in silence a little while longer until Hyde bent down to open the last drawer in the dresser. One of the knobs were missing, leaving only a screwy nail in its place. He opened the drawer from the edges, expertly avoiding the nail, but as he was quickly pushing clothes into the nearly-full rucksack, his hand missed the interior of the drawer and slipped onto the outside, slicing the corner of his palm open. "Damn it!" he yelled, jumping away quickly.</p>
<p>"What's wrong?" Jackie asked, looking at him wide-eyed.</p>
<p>"Nothing," he grumbled, holding his hand away from himself so he wouldn't get blood on his shirt. "I just gotta go get a band-aid."</p>
<p>She studied him worriedly as he exited the room, crossing the hall to the bathroom. He turned on the tap, stuck his hand under the running water, and used his free hand to throw open the cabinet door on the wall.</p>
<p>He looked inside and felt rage build up again. They took the freakin' band-aids. "Damn it!" he shouted again, louder and more viciously. He slammed the door shut, satisfaction rushing through him as it shook against the force. Stupid, worthless parents. They couldn't even leave the damn band-aids. Anger rising, he kicked the bottom of the sink. He yanked back open the cabinet and grabbed whatever the hell was left inside - all stupid, worthless things, just like his parents - and threw them to the ground. He spun around, looking for anything, but there was nothing else to throw. He reached forward and ripped down the shower curtain, sending the rod flying off the wall and clanking down into the rotting bathtub. Coming to this place was his biggest mistake.</p>
<p>Chest heaving with angry breaths, he moved to leave the bathroom and found Jackie at the doorway, staring at him. She didn't look frightened. Only worried.</p>
<p>"Come here," she said. She grabbed the wrist of his sliced-open hand and pulled him behind her. She walked him to the couch and pushed him down. "Sit," she ordered, and he heard her walk back into the kitchen. Staring straight ahead he heard the water run, then more footsteps and she was back in front of him, kitchen towel in hand. It was less of a kitchen cloth and more of an old, used piece of fabric, dirty and stained, but all they had. It was damp now as Jackie knelt in front of him and gently took his hand in hers.</p>
<p>She wrapped the cloth around his hand tightly. He tried not to wince while she tied the cloth around the back of his hand, securing it with a damn bow. She looked behind her, where there used to be a TV. It was gone now. "Hold on," she told him as she stood back up. He stared at his hand, watching the blood slowly seep through the fabric. She reappeared in front of him holding a cracked open beer. She met his eyes as she handed it to him, daring him to refuse. He took it from her and lifted it to his lips, letting the familiar taste slide down his throat. "Just sit here," she said to him, and disappeared again.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Jackie wanted to grab Hyde's parents and kick them in their shins. They were the worst kinds of people. They left Hyde all alone without telling him, took everything with them, made him pay for the rent, and because of all that, <em>she </em>was on her hands and knees on a grimy bathroom floor picking up all the things Hyde had thrown down and mopping up blood. If she ever saw either of those two again, she would give them a piece of her mind.</p>
<p>She couldn't imagine how Hyde must be feeling right now. She wasn't surprised when he lost it, throwing things all over the place. She probably would too.</p>
<p>Finishing off the bathroom floor, she threw everything away, dusted herself off, and washed her hands. She left the shower curtain and rod right where they were. Not everything had to be fixed.</p>
<p>She exited the bathroom and crossed the hall back into what was Hyde's room, glancing in his direction as she went. He was still on the couch, beer in his hand, sitting and staring much like he had been when she found him earlier that night.</p>
<p>There were still a couple clothes left in the bottom drawer he'd cut his on, so she started there, stuffing the bag with the last of his clothes and then finally buckling it closed. Then she finished shoving whatever else lay around the place in the two pillowcases she pulled off. The only things left were only 2 posters on the wall, a Led Zeppelin one and an AC/DC one. One was low enough for her to reach, but the other hung way higher than her head. She sighed. Of course. The only things in the room she could stand on were his bed and that dresser, and she'd need a ladder to get on the dresser anyway.</p>
<p>God, she hated manual labour. Slipping off her shoes and climbing on, she balanced on the edge of the bed and reached for the bottom-left corner of the poster and carefully peeled it off. One corner done. Great. She tried to reach the top, but, God, how did <em>Hyde </em>even get it way up there? She stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arms out and - yes! She got it. Now she just had to slowly pull it off and - tumble over.</p>
<p>She lost her balance completely, letting out a small shriek as she tried to catch herself. She landed shakily on her feet, but not without hearing a sickening rip; when she looked down, there was half a Zeppelin poster in her hand. With her other hand Jackie covered her mouth in disbelief. Oh crap.</p>
<p>"What the hell are you doing?"</p>
<p>Jackie spun around, her hand still over her mouth, poster still in hand, eyes still wide. "I'm so sorry," she said, moving her hand away from her mouth.</p>
<p>From the doorway, he studied her position, his torn poster, then noticed her bare feet. "You tried to take down my Zeppelin poster."</p>
<p>Jackie nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again.</p>
<p>Hyde shook his head at her. "You moron."</p>
<p>She smiled at him weakly and held out the piece she held in your hand. "Here you go."</p>
<p>He rolled his eyes, grabbed it, and crumpled it in his good hand. "Thanks," he drawled sarcastically. "This everything?"</p>
<p>"I think so," Jackie said, putting back on her shoes. When she was done she stood up straight and peered up at him. "Are you less mad now?"</p>
<p>She could be wrong, but she swore she saw his gaze soften, the first unguarded look he'd had all night. "A little," he gave in.</p>
<p>Jackie grinned. "Okay. Let's go."</p>
<p>She picked up the two pillowcases; Hyde swung the ginormous bag over his shoulder, then scooped up the rest of his records and pair of shoes into his good hands. He followed her out the room quietly. Jackie figured she should give him a moment of silence to say goodbye, even if he hated the place. It may be his last real memories with his parents, all three of them under one roof. Maybe ever. She waited for him while he set everything down, took the key out his pocket, and slap it onto the counter.</p>
<p>"Do you want to take the beers?" she asked while he recollected his stuff.</p>
<p>"Nah. I don't want anything from them."</p>
<p>Jackie nodded and shot him another smile he didn't return. He shuffled past her, leading the way out the door unceremoniously. So much for goodbyes. She shut the door behind them and traipsed after him on the rickety stairs. They threw the pile of his things at the back of the El Camino, then she climbed back into passenger seat.</p>
<p>"Jackie." He was leaning slightly against the passenger door, looking at her through the space of the rolled-down window. "Listen. Thanks. For helping me out tonight. And the food. And," he held up his wrapped hand lamely. "You know."</p>
<p>Jackie smiled widely. It was so great being recognized. "You're welcome," she said, a hint of pride in her voice. She wished she didn't have to keep this a secret so she could tell everyone what a great person she was. "That's what friends do."</p>
<p>"Yeah, wh-"</p>
<p>"No, wait. Say it."</p>
<p>"Say what?"</p>
<p>"Admit that we're friends and you like me."</p>
<p>He scowled at her. She grinned at him.</p>
<p>"We're friends," he said reluctantly after a stare-down. "When I can tolerate you."</p>
<p>He dismissed the conversation by walking away and going to get into his side of the car. Jackie settled back into her seat happily. He started the car and drove away.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I always thought it was super weird that the writers handled Hyde's parents leaving and him moving back in within one scene. And it's either during or after this episode that we start to see him and Jackie starting to really get along with each other. Which gave me the perfect amount of space to write this and kind of give context to both those things. Hope it worked lol. Let me know what you think :) And as always, thank you for reading.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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